From Running Courses To Running The Race

Lucy Sarre, training consultant at AP Courses, is celebrating one of the biggest achievements of her life. Whilst AP Courses goes from strength to strength, meaning that Lucy has been busier than ever administering and delivering training, there’s been a small matter of 26.2 miles that has not been far from her mind. But this weekend she did it!!! The London marathon is one of the biggest events of the sporting calendar and Lucy was privileged to be part of it: "I found out I had gained my place almost a year ago and was delighted. However, the last four months were really hard work and I often wondered what I had let myself in for," she says.

Undertaking a feat such as this takes determination and commitment, and these are both qualities that have been recognised by clients impressed with her work at AP Courses. Lucy was on hand to train the entire staff of Northern Trust when they recently rolled out Lotus Notes. Human resources administrator at Northern Trust, Debbie Falla, says that her dedication proved invaluable during this training period: "Lucy is approachable, enthusiastic and committed to providing a quality service. She listened to our requirements and confidently provided an excellent training course that met our previously identified needs," she said.

It’s not just specific training in which Lucy is proficient.Many large businesses in the Channel Islands rely on tutorials from Approved Courses to help train their staff in all areas of computer skills. The idea is to take the hassle out of training, and Anna Forbes from Investec Bank (CI) Limited says that’s exactly what Lucy does: "She is a pleasure to deal with - always efficient and very helpful when we need to arrange courses."

Liz Sackett, training officer at MeesPierson Reads Group Services Limited, echoes that view and says, "Lucy is a first-class communicator and instructor. We have received excellent feedback from all those staff who have had the benefit of attending her classes."MeesPierson has a rigorous training programme within their company, and all their staff are encouraged to undertake courses on a regular basis. Liz says that a good rapport with such an excellent training provider is imperative: "On a personal level, I cannot praise Lucy highly enough for her help and support. I have a high regard for her training ability. Her response to any query or request for information is always immediate and her input is invaluable," says Liz.

In order to do her job to the best of her ability Lucy undergoes continuous learning herself. She is a qualified teacher of the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) and Advanced ECDL, has gained the Professional Certificate in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the CIPD Certificate in Training Practice (CTP) and has completed a master certification as a Microsoft Office Specialist trainer. Lucy is currently studying City and Guilds Level 3 Introduction to Learning and Education.

With such commitment to continue her own training in order to help others, is she going to continue her running career and end up with a string of marathons to her name? Lucy is more realistic about this prospect: "I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and raised a huge amount of money for diabetes research, but as for another?No, I think it will be another 26 years before I want to do another 26 miles!"