Swindon & Wiltshire News
New faces at automotive learning and development company
A trio of new recruits have joined expanding learning and development consultancy rts Group.
The Chippenham-based company, which specialises in creating and delivering learning and development programmes for automotive manufacturers, now has approaching 50 staff as well as more than 200 associates around the globe.
Founded in 1989, the company recently received a £50,000 grant from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and counts among its clients well-known brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan.
Stephen Casey, 34, joins rts’s acclaimed Mazda Academy team as network talent consultant, creating programmes to attract and retain talent within the dealership networking.
In his early career, Stephen worked in export for a tooling manufacturer, then moved into recruitment, becoming a branch manager for a nationwide recruitment consultancy.
Following this, Stephen was instrumental in setting up a national website for schools, aimed at providing careers and employment advice and opportunities to school-leavers.
Prior to joining rts, he was Head of Business Improvement at Rotherham College of Arts & Technology, working with local employers and supporting them to recruit staff via the apprenticeship scheme.
Louise Kandalaft, 47, began her career in PR, working both in-house and for a consultancy. She moved into event management for Government departments then made a complete career switch by becoming a cabin crew member, first for Britannia Airways then for BA.
After a career break to bring up her family, Louise returned to the airline industry and was a business manager for BA before joining rts as international project executive. In her role, Louise supports David Jordan – head of rts’s international business – with projects in their pre-signoff stage.
Sarah Michalik, 34, joins rts as senior instructional designer following 12 years with VW at its head office in Milton Keynes. Sarah began in the VW call centre, and gradually moved into training the centre’s new recruits, taking her CITP and City & Guilds qualifications.
She moved into training the customer-facing dealership staff through the VW group academy, working with Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Sarah then switched from programme delivery into programme design, before joining rts where she is focussing on programme design for rts’s clients.
Malcolm Miller, managing director for rts Group, said: “Stephen, Sarah and Louise are a great asset to the team, which is growing in line with the growth in our client-base and demand for our services.
“The automotive market is truly global and we are focussing on expanding our business overseas as well as in the UK and a strong team will enable us to succeed.”
