Kathy Connolly

Kathy worked as a Personal Assistant part-time whilst her children were at school. She decided to acquire formal PA training and started a PA course with Pitmans. Upon completion of her training, she was so impressed with the benefits of Pitman Training that she decided to work there as a course advisor. Since then she has never looked back. In 2009 she acquired her own franchise in Hammersmith.

When advising students, Kathy always remembers her days as a student with Pitman Training. Her main piece of advice for students is to:

"Before you begin, know the job you want to do, then learn the skills to get that job. As soon as you start training APPLY for that job. Each day you train is one day closer to your dream job. Don't worry about confidence, we will give you that! "

Mike Connolly

Mike has worked for several large organisations across a range of corporate functions including Education, HR and Law. He has a number of years experience dealing with recruitment and training issues and is well placed to understand the local market and the potential jobs available to the students of Pitman Training Hammersmith.

In particular, his contacts with agencies and employers enable him to advise students on CVs, what students need to do to get a job and what employers are looking for from candidates applying for secretarial, PA, Finance or IT jobs.

When thinking about how best to help students he states:

"Once a student starts a Pitman course they begin to increase their skills from day one. As they go through the course, they soon have most of the skills for the job they want. The only thing the student needs to do at an interview is link what they have done at Pitmans with the job they want. This shows the employer how they are going to add value from day one."

Helen O'Mahony

Helen has undertaken a number of courses at Pitman Training in Hammersmith. She often works as a part-time trainer and understands well the issues students face when learning new skills.

She ably assists when needed and states that a students biggest challenge is overcoming the fear of starting a new course. She states:

"At the beginning some students are worried about how they will progress on a course because they have been out of education for so long; some have brought up families, others have taken a career break, however it is amazing how quickly they progress once they get started. Their confidence really increases with every course. At the end they are speeding through each course and ready to take on anything!."