Our Trainers

Our Trainers

David Mitchell, Training & Development Manager
	I have been with Barry Bennett Ltd for the last 9 years, during which I have had several roles within the technical support department, repair centre, and the computer setup and software installation centre. In my role as Training & Development Manager I am responsible for the training of all Barry Bennett employees and the management and development of our Trainers, ensuring they are fully accredited and skilled within their roles. I am also involved in research & development where I test and evaluate new equipment and software to hit the market and I demonstrate and train assessors and staff on new products that we supply. In my spare time I enjoy growing my own produce on my local allotment and am a keen ‘home brewer’ of both wine and real ales. I live in Bolton with my wife and son and have two daughters who have moved on to have children of their own making me a granddad of three.

Dan Deakin
	My specialist knowledge lies in ergonomics and I have been a DSE Assessor for 9 years, working for Barry Bennett Ltd for 4 years and I switched to training in September 2010. I have a City & Guilds in PC Repair as well as being an avid gamer. I have an easy going, relaxed personality and I adapt the training to the individual’s knowledge, interests and coursework/work requirements. I specialise in training the standard software we provide such as Dragon naturally speaking, Read and Write, Claro and the entire Mind mapping software in our portfolio. I am also called upon to provide DSE Assessments for University students and workplace members of staff. I live with my family in Dorset so am excellently placed for the south of the country.

Dan Wilson
	I have worked in the assistive technology field as a specialist trainer for the past seven years. I provide one-to-one and group training sessions within education and the workplace. My experience of assistive software and hardware is wide ranging from Dyslexia support tools through to software for the visually impaired, and the latest voice activated software for PC and Mac. I am a certified trainer for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and I am also certified to train on Dolphin’s range of visual impairment software. I have 4 years experience in training on JAWS software, as well as a good knowledge of video magnifiers and handheld CCTVs. I am a conscientious and enthusiastic person with a passion for seeing people reach their potential. I believe that quality services come down to experience and attention to detail.

Gareth Riley
	I started work at Barry Bennett Ltd as an IT Installer, initially dealing with installs and services, and then progressed on to the role of IT Trainer, training students and individuals within business on specialist software and hardware. I graduated from Bolton University with a Degree with Honours in Business Information Systems. I also have numerous other qualifications gained throughout my education in addition to software accreditations including Dragon Naturally Speaking and Read and Write to name just a few. I enjoy travelling and holidays (having travelled to many exotic and interesting countries), going to the gym/ keeping fit, eating out, socialising, and I’m a keen music and film lover. I am based in the northwest but have travelled all over the country with Barry Bennett’s to train customers.

Matt Povey
	I have been in the IT industry for approximately 10 years, starting off managing hardware and networks for medium to large companies. Wanting a new challenge, I ventured into the nerdy world of programming; specialising in large corporate websites, databases and proprietary online solutions for many different companies and organisations throughout the UK. Though this was enjoyable, I wanted a career change to do something more satisfying while utilising both my knowledge and experience of IT. I am really enjoying my role at Barry Bennett Ltd - it’s great to meet new people, travel the country and most importantly see people benefiting from the training and equipment that we provide. I have now caught the teaching bug and I am currently completing several teaching qualifications to maximise the effectiveness of my teaching. Besides being knee deep in text books and assignments I can usually be found in the middle of a forest on my mountain bike, although, being ‘on’ my bike is a little optimistic. I fall off a lot!

Michael Cheung
	I have worked in IT for over 10 years as a qualified trainer and I joined Barry Bennett Ltd in 2004 to develop my skills and experience and to take up new challenges. Through hard work and determination I now have many qualifications and I am a fully accredited certified trainer in numerous specialised software programs including Dragon Naturally Speaking Read and Write and many others. I relish learning new things and gaining as much knowledge and experience as I can. I am a very hardworking individual who looks forward to challenges on a daily basis. I live in the northwest with my Family and cover the whole area often travelling far beyond. My interests are football, films, technology and socialising.

Michael Leech
	I have worked for Barry Bennett Ltd for 4 years, training in all of our enabling technology and I am certified with Texthelp, Dragon and Dolphin products. I previously taught all levels of ICT at Newcastle College, where I studied for and achieved my Certificate in Education. I am very patient and encourage any questions during my training sessions. I am also very customer focussed and will try to help with any aspect of IT. Coming from a training background at Newcastle College I have adapted my many years of skills and knowledge to help our customers to achieve the best out of their equipment and software training to help fulfil their goals in university or work. I live in the north east with my wife and children which enables me to cover the whole area as far up as Scotland and as far down in the country as needed.

Ross Nichols
	I have been with Barry Bennett Ltd for over 3 years now following the completion of my Degree in IT at Sunderland University and a technical support role at Sage Software Ltd where I supported customers in a front line support capacity. I have been involved in full time IT for 6 years. I am a certified trainer in various software packages including Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Texthelp (Windows and,Mac). I train in many other packages including Inspirations, Mindview, Mindgenious and ClaroRead amongst others. I am a friendly and easy to get along with person and enjoy meeting new people and passing on my experiences and skills that I have gained with others to aid in their learning experience. I live in Newcastle and enjoy spending my spare time fly fishing in the beautiful northeast countryside.

Stuart Garside
	Having joined the company in January 2008 and, after extensive training, I now specialise in voice recognition, proof reading and mind mapping applications and have a sound knowledge of many common Windows and Mac software applications and assistive hardware. I feel that the service we provide continues to help both students and professionals to gain the skills and knowledge to become independent and competent in day-to-day IT related tasks. Having patience and professionalism coupled with a good knowledge and understanding of the difficulties and challenges people using our service face, I feel confident we can overcome most challenges with a relaxed yet mature outlook and comprehensive package of training and support to our clients. I live in West London with my family and cover the areas throughout when training for Barry Bennett Ltd.

Stuart Lloyd
	I have worked in the IT industry for approximately 7 years and my training style is reasonably relaxed. After ascertaining the customer’s knowledge with computers I put their mind at ease if they are inexperienced. My strength lies in avoiding jargon wherever possible. I always provide my customers with information about how the software will work best with their course/work. By asking what course/work the customer is doing and finding their preferred learning style (whether it’s visual, having a DVR recording of the training or being more hands on), I work on building their confidence with their new equipment/software. I also offer organisation skills and methods that might help them keep their files safe. I live in Brighton enabling me to cover the south easily. I enjoy computer gaming as a hobby so that helps me to maintain knowledge of current hardware. My other hobbies include martial arts, music, film, reading and playing my bass guitar.

Tracey Horrigan
	I have been a trainer since February 2000. Previously to this I worked in the Graphic Arts Industry for the Mitsubishi Corporation and other various Blue Chip companies. My training style is very open and friendly and not patronising in any way. I genuinely believe that everyone has potential to achieve and excel. I prefer to adapt my training to the customer’s specific needs and usually spend time breaking down the students essay questions and brainstorming information, organising it in a logical approach. Through Access to Work, I help people in work and cover planning, organisation (colour coding, diary systems), ergonomics (seating, posture etc.) and how best to approach their work more efficiently with the equipment they have been provided. I have an HND in Business and Marketing and am working towards my Psychology Degree with the Open University, so know all about keeping deadlines. I’m a friendly and outgoing person, in my spare time I like to spend time with friends and love films, walking, skiing. I live in Leeds, Yorkshire.

DSA

Corporate

Public Sector

Education