Meet the Staff: Steve
Welcome to another edition of our “Meet the Staff” series! Today, we’re excited to introduce you to one of our dedicated tutors, Steve Rackley.
With a rich background in training and development, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to his role, and we’re thrilled to share more about his contributions, background, and interests.
At HBTC, Steve serves as a Tutor, running our rolling programme lessons for learners in various areas such as administration, customer service, and team leading. He imparts his knowledge to our apprentices through weekly lessons, ensuring they receive top-notch education and training.
What is your proudest achievement at this organisation so far?
Where do I start!? I think helping our learners pass their MCQ test by providing additional support. To see them succeed is really rewarding! I’ve also recently delivered a face to face two day management course and it was great to be back in the classroom delivering. The feedback was amazing so I’m really proud of that.
Can you share a little about your professional background and how it has shaped your role?
I worked for a large utility company in the training and development area for over 30 years. Unfortunately we were all made redundant in 2020. During my time with my previous company, I trained and taught customer service, and management development as well as gaining my PGCE teaching qualification. I also have a degree in Administrative Management. I really didn’t want to waste this combination of experience and qualification so it is great passing this knowledge on to apprentices through weekly lessons.
How do you stay motivated and inspired in your work?
My motivation is to see our learners succeed and learn new things along the way. It is always great meeting new learners too and getting to know them.
Who has been your biggest mentor or influence in your career, and why?
I think it has to be my parents. Since starting work at the age of 16, they have constantly provided support, advice, guidance and encouragement. I still call them if I’ve had a bad day!
How do you like to unwind after a busy day at work?
I do like to go for a swim after work, it is refreshing and boosts my mood after a busy day in the office. I’m also partial to watching the soaps as well!
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
Probably, Sydney in Australia. I have two best friends living there and I haven’t seen them in a while so it would be great to jump on a plane and go for a visit. Not sure about the jet lag though!
I was lucky enough to work in Germany and Poland with my previous company so it would be really nice to return there to catch up with previous colleagues.
Which season do you enjoy the most, and what do you love about it?
Autumn, definitely. I must say that I do like the darker nights and the colours at that time of year. It is also Hull Fair, Halloween and Bonfire Night. Always a good excuse for a party and a get-together with family and friends!
Steve’s impact on our learners is evident from the reviews we receive —here’s what some of Steve’s students have to say:
- “I had Steve Rackley carry out the lessons, and his delivery was very helpful and easy to learn from. He also stayed behind after the lesson for anyone who needed additional help. Very impressed, and thank you, Steve!”
- “I have just finished my online lessons with Steve Rackley, and it was a great experience! Steve was friendly, and the class was super interactive. The tasks were helpful, and I really recommend HBTC.”
- “HTBC helped me a lot through my apprenticeship. Getting my job and Steve was always great with my lessons. Thank you!”
- “I have been with my Apprenticeship for four months and have been completing my online lessons with Steve, who is a fab teacher. He explains everything and keeps you interested and on task during lessons. Highly recommend HBTC—the staff are amazing, and thank you very much to Steve for teaching me—an amazing teacher.”
- “The Team at HBTC are great! Just wanted to say a thank you to Steve Rackley, who taught my customer service lessons and always made these very engaging!”
Steve’s dedication and passion for teaching make him an invaluable part of our team at HBTC. We look forward to seeing more of his learners achieve their goals and succeed.
If you’re interested in learning from Steve and developing new skills, consider joining our programmes at HBTC.
Laura Murray
Laura is our IT & Design Officer and is involved in anything IT or design related. She is also the supervisor of the Admin Team who keep things running smoothly here at HBTC. Laura is dedicated to ensuring systems and processes run as effortlessly as possible in the most visually appealing way.