This month, we’re sitting down for a cuppa with our lovely Learning and Development Lead, Tracey Weetman!
Tell me about your role within Namos.
I am the Learning and Development Lead at Namos. I’m responsible for training and professional development of our employees. I work with individuals at all levels to support them on their journey, sourcing the right training material and building learning paths relevant to their role.
Progression is key and this can only be achieved through continuous learning and development. It is my responsibility to encourage all of our employees to take ownership of their learning, but also to provide them with a consistent approach and support as they strive to be the best they can be.
Can you talk me through your previous experience?
I moved to America at a young age and started working at the British embassy as a messenger and courier. This provided me with an opportunity to visit many places, including the Pentagon, the White House, Reuters, the Capitol Building. I was honoured to be invited to the Ambassador’s ball in the presence of Prince Charles and Lady Diana all those years ago. (It seems like a dot on the landscape now!).
I was probably the youngest person ever to be made redundant, at the age of 16! But this did not stop me… I took pen to paper and taped my trolley with the message ‘Redundant – Giz a Job!’ as I delivered the mail (this did not go unnoticed) I was offered a temporary job stock taking and logging inventory on a computer the size of a cupboard (or so it seemed).
I came back to the UK at the age of 18 with no qualifications and joined an apprenticeship. After my daughter was born, I joined an employment training scheme with one day a week taking RSA Word processing and Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT) and that was it, I knew I wanted to work with software. This was perfect as my placement was that of a data input clerk at the Jaguar centre in Cheltenham. I will be forever grateful for that. It was my introduction to accounting, petty cash and much more.
I moved to Scarborough to be with my mum, and I joined an employment agency working at a theatrical production and artiste management company as an Accounts Administrator. You may be familiar with the pantomimes and shows across holiday camps and theatres across the UK – this was another amazing time for me.
I was responsible for raising invoices and typing contracts, running payrolls and equity contracts for acts such as Bobby Davro, Wayne Sleep, Sheila Ferguson, The Krankies, Billy Pearce, Linda Lusardi and The Grumbleweeds (to name drop a few). It really was quite a time in my life! I consider this to be my first real accounting role and it was also my first introduction to implementing accounting software. This was considerably different to the modern day, as I had to stand, load and watch over the progress of over 4 boxes of discs loading on to a hard-drive. (This was my first insight into how the accounting software came to be on my workstation.)
I knew from this point that I really wanted to progress my career in accounting, and this meant I had to seek opportunities with other companies for this to be possible. I have been an end user and super user of many different applications on various platforms. Working closely with bespoke software providers as well as managed service providers, I had a thirst to learn more and to become more knowledgeable in this field.
I had a couple of great accounting roles and my career blossomed, but it was not until I joined North Yorkshire Police as a member of the Financial Analysis team that I really found my forte and my love for Financial Systems.
As an end user and administrator of Oracle, I worked closely with Chris Mason, Steve Davis, Richard Eltham and others on the upgrade of the systems. I worked with IT, DBA’s and stakeholders from across the organisation building test plans, test scripts and UAT scripts, tracking, recording and resolving issues and learning much more about Oracle and being amazed at how transparent and easy the sites were to navigate made me keen to learn more.
What led you to join Namos?
Watching and learning from Mokum colleagues was the trigger for another career move. My drive and passion for Oracle was inspired by them and from that moment on, I literally wanted to do what they did; I was determined to study and become a certified specialist from that moment on, no matter what.
After applying to work with Chris and Richard at Mokum, I then applied to Sopra Steria where I was placed at NHS SBS, having responsibility for conversions and reconciliations for the upgrade of over 70 NHS Trusts.
I was working at NHS SBS when Chris and I made contact via Linkedin. I still had the burning ambition to become an Oracle consultant to the point of mapping out a 5 year plan back in 2012. Chris remembered me from my time with the Police Force and he offered me a role in 2016. When offered the opportunity to join Namos as a full-time permanent employee I had to jump at the chance.
What do you love about working for Namos?
I love the passion that flows from everyone within Namos. All our staff want to be the best they can be, making sure that projects are delivered to the highest standards. The most rewarding aspect of my role is helping other people. I love sharing my experiences (good and bad) on how to handle situations, and how to see a project to completion. I work closely with our Associate Consultants, whether they are joining straight from university or via our Veterans programme, and I am very proud to serve and support each member of our team.
What qualities would make someone a good fit for your team?
They have got to love what they do. They must share the same values and want to help people grow.
It is about providing good training, but also working with people to support their personal and professional development.
In L&D, we can’t know everything about every subject, but we should be resourceful. We should know where to go to find the information we need.
Progression not perfection, as our CEO would say!
Which aspects of your work are you most passionate about?
It is all about the people for me. Growth is extremely important and so is self-reflection and self-awareness.
In my life I have had to scramble, I have been on quite a journey where my focus has shifted from one scenario to another without a clearly defined development plan. I knew what I wanted, but it was very difficult for me to sell my vision and get the support I needed. For many years I felt lost and invested an immeasurable amount of time in learning subjects that were not relevant.
I make sure that we build structured learning pathways that align to and can be tailored to an individuals’ career path and aspirations. I’m passionate about making access to learning simple and as structured as possible, but also making sure we are resourceful and investing wisely.
What does the future look like for your team?
The future is bright. Investment in continuous learning and development is key. We’re building on the foundations we have, and we’re building up our internal infrastructure, which is wonderful to see. We do not simply implement Oracle for our clients, we live and breathe it too. Enhancing our internal offerings, investing in Talent and Learn bringing our employee experience to life.
What advice would you give to candidates starting out in the Oracle world?
Come to Namos! If you are looking for an Oracle role, be open minded, have passion and drive. You must want to learn. We invest in learning, but it is your responsibility to invest in yourself. Oracle is ever evolving, it’s innovative and you must want to move as fast with your learning as Oracle is moving with its product. Don’t be under the illusion that it is easy – you will need to work at it, but if you join Namos you will have all the support you need, to get to where you need to be.
Go to our website, learn about our products and services, and upload your CV, even if you don’t know what you want to do. Take that leap of faith and see where it takes you! That’s what I did.
Join us again next month, as we take a look into the world of Project Management with our Portfolio Director, Richard Lumsden!
About Namos Solutions
Namos Solutions are an award-winning Oracle OPN Modernised Partner specialising in the implementation and support of ERP, EPM and HCM business solutions, both in the Cloud and on-premise.
With global experience together with an impeccable track record, our business is built on our passion for delivering successful business transformation. Passion underpins everything we do at Namos – passionate about delivering beyond expectations, earning trust and building long-lasting relationships with our clients.
Although based in central London, we work wherever our clients need us to be. Many leading organisations located all over the world trust and rely on our expertise to deliver industry-leading business solutions. Namos customers can currently be found in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, North America and Africa. For more information, please visit www.namossolutions.com or email info@namossolutions.com.
