There have been some changes at Verner Wheelock HQ over the past few months.
Mitch Morrison has left for pastures new and Amberley North and Rhyanna Pearson from the Training Support team went on maternity leave in November. Rhyanna gave birth to her first child, Lucy, whilst Amberley’s son, Quinn, is a baby brother for her elder son, Malackai. Can you believe that both babies were actually due on the same day?!
Amberley has been with us since December 2016 and Rhyanna joined in 2018. Both are valued members of the team and we look forward to welcoming them back later this year (and having lots more baby cuddles in between).
The requirement for maternity cover seemed the ideal opportunity for a review of job roles. Amberley had already reduced her hours to 2 days per week, and there was a need for someone to support Samantha Day with administration of the ethical audits. Step forward Stella Hewitt, Jessica Spivey, Vicki Andrews and Nicola Ayrton….
Stella Hewitt
Stella has been on the team since June and is doing a sterling job dealing with day-to-day office admin. She processes all the course bookings and sends out the order confirmations, deals with any queries, organises lunches, deals with examinations, introduces courses, invigilates exams, books our course trainers and any accommodation. Plus 100 other things….
Stella has a 5 year-old son, Bobbie, who keeps her on her toes when she’s not at work. She also enjoys exercise and socialising with friends
Jessica Spivey
18 year old Jess is Stella’s trusty assistant providing maternity cover for Rhyanna. She is responsible for printing and collating all the course materials (both in-house and open). That’s a lot of course folders each week! She also liaises with customers and suppliers, helps Stella process the dozens of emails received every day, answers the phone and orders exam papers. For someone with no previous work experience who has just completed her A’ Levels, she has taken to the job like a duck to water. Jess is staying at VWA until she starts university in the autumn.
In her spare time Jess enjoys watching animé films, walking her dog, Blue, and spending time with her friends.
Nicola Ayrton
Nicola has been temping at VWA for over 4 years now, so we’re really pleased to announce that she has agreed to work for us on a permanent basis. Nicola is responsible for credit control and also provides admin support to Claire, our Business Development Executive and the Training Support team. She is extremely versatile and simply great to have around.
Nicola is busy preparing for her wedding this summer. She also enjoys taking her French Bulldog, Phoebe, for long walks in the Yorkshire countryside.
Vicki Andrews
Last, but not least, is Vicki. Vicki has only been with us since December, but we have already worked out that she is an IT wizard. If there is a faster way of doing a task on Excel, Word or any other programme, she is all over it! Vicki’s main role is providing admin support to Sam, our Ethical Audit Co-ordinator. Last year Verner Wheelock carried out more than 170 SMETA ethical audits, so having Vicki on board is a total godsend. Her main tasks will be sending out order confirmations to customers, chasing for information, updating contacts, checking audit reports and any other admin work.
Vicki has two children and is a keen photographer. She also enjoys living the country life, painting watercolours and sewing.