Instructor profile: Steve Clark

Welcome to the first in our series of Instructor Profiles. Get tips and advice from the experts and find out how they started working in the industry. 
 
After a career with the Royal Air Force Steve Clark from Crewe in Cheshire moved into first aid training to teach people life-saving skills.

Q. Why did you choose a career in first aid training?
A. I was an aircraft technician in the Royal Air Force for 30 years and was trained in first aid with them. When I was coming out of the military I had to decide what to do next. I’m a scuba diving instructor with the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), and first aid and scuba diving go together pretty much hand in hand. First aid felt like a natural progression and so I decided to follow that. I enjoy meeting and working with different people and I enjoy teaching.

Q. Why did you join WorkSafe Training Systems?
A. I joined WorkSafe Training in about 2007 as I was looking for an awarding body for a course I was running in Nuneaton. I got talking to WorkSafe and joined them from there, as I liked the offer. I now do some instructor training for WorkSafe and we work together on a number of different projects.

WorkSafe has one of the better solutions out there. The process is easy for registering candidates that have done courses, the material is very easy-to-use, administratively it’s a very light burden so it makes life considerably easier when you’re processing lots of students.

Q. What work does your training company do?
A. My company is called Steve Clark Training and I work for a number of different companies in the area. One of my main contracts is as a subcontractor to the Countess of Chester Hospital. I teach for the Resuscitation Training Department using the WorkSafe programme. It’s in-hospital first aid training and the major contract they have is with Airbus UK, so I do all of their First Aid at Work training and all of their Defibrillation training.

Q. Any funny moments from teaching first aid?
A. Some of the questions you get over the years can give you a laugh and some of the processes you run through when teaching can be quite amusing. All in all, it’s a very rewarding experience teaching people first aid. It’s not a funny moment, but one lady who had finished the course with me, called to say she had gone on holiday straight afterwards and had to use her first aid skills on the first day. I’ve had a few instances like that over the years where people have called or texted to thank me for the training as they have had to use it.

Q. Any life saving experiences of your own?
A. Yes, unfortunately quite a number of times. You deal with it and move on to the next one. The minor stuff is easy to deal with but the more life threatening stuff isn’t so.

Q. Do you have any tips to pass on to other trainers?
A. Have a passion for what you do. Ensure that you are always professional and knowledgeable; spend time making sure that you stay up to date with the latest medical thinking. Listen when your students ask questions; be honest and real with your answers and don’t waffle. A quality course deserves professional delivery.

For more information visit Steve Clark Training.