David is Marketing and Business Change Manager Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate with Lynne Fernandes Optometrists and UWE Bristol.
A KTP is a UK-wide, 3-way partnership between a business, a university and talented graduate, and aims to help businesses improve competitiveness and productivity, whilst also boosting the career prospects of the Associate.
Based in Bristol, Lynne Fernandes is a highly skilled, national award-winning Optometrists. At Lynne Fernandes they are designed to offer you the best they can in vision care and eyewear. Their innovative eye care and exemplary customer service is continuously improved by investment in equipment and products to provide personalised eye care and vision correction of the highest standard.
David tells us that “The vision for the project is to implement and embed management practices within the organisation. The project is focussed on imparting the skills the company needs to take advantage of the opportunities offered by developing its innovative EyeSense subscription service”.
We asked David what a typical day as a KTP Associate is like and he gave us the following insight:
“One of the great things about my KTP is the variety involved in the role. No two days are the same.
One day I can be working on my own, another day I will be working in one of the company’s practices and, on another day, I will be working or attending meetings at the University. The aspect that I really like is being in control of my diary!”
One of the positive aspects that David has found out about his role is that “The training I have received has been amazing. I have attended two courses at the Ashorne Hill learning and development centre. The course was very practical, and I have been able to apply a lot of what I learnt into my everyday work. It was great meeting other KTP associates on the course and sharing experiences. The Strategy Innovation course that I have recently completed was a revelation and have applied the models to the business which is helping me focus my efforts. I have also had the pleasure of studying for a diploma in Digital Marketing – a lot of work but well worth it! Another positive aspect of the role is the amount of people I work with – they have all made me very welcome and have helped me a great deal”.
There is a dedicated training and development budget available for the Associates on KTP and David has told us how he has benefited from using this to help support him in his role “As well as attending courses with Ashorne Hill, the Institute of Digital Marketing and KTN’s Innovation Strategy course, I have also had speaker training and training relating to specific software. Without exception the courses have been excellent and relevant to my specific KTP. Thanks to the courses I have increased my productivity and value I can add to my KTP”.
Finally, we asked David whether he would recommended KTP Associate role and he answered
“I would thoroughly recommend the programme to other graduates. You quickly gain knowledge and experience that can make a positive difference to the organisation you work with. You will always have problems and I have found on several occasions talking to the right people makes a tremendous difference – people want help. I feel that it is a springboard to a successful and interesting career. The programme gives you the tools and knowledge to progress and enables you to be an asset to your organisation. It is just a pity that more people do not know about it!”
The company have been very impressed by the impact that David has made and stated the following “David is a pleasure to work with. As a KTP associate, he has gently but assertively steered our thinking about systems and the future”.
