Xpertise ITIL trainer nominated as finalist for British Computer Society's 'IT trainer of the year'
The British Computer Society has announced that Steve Leach, Xpertise's lead ITIL trainer, has been nominated as a finalist for 'trainer of the year' in its 2007 Individual Excellence Awards.
Leach is “overjoyed” to be nominated for this prestigious award. “Being nominated as a finalist is a real thrill and, of course, I’ve got my fingers well and truly crossed for the awards evening!”
ITIL is a demanding subject to both learn and teach, so being an ITIL trainer requires both in-depth knowledge and the ability to inspire. And inspire Steve certainly does: comments from Leech’s students are often outstanding. For example, BT’s Chris Stirland, who is responsible for implementing service-management infrastructures within public- and private-sector organisations, believes that Steve is the most inspirational trainer he’s ever met. “Steve inspired me significantly – and really influenced the way I work,” says Chris. “His teaching style is incredibly enthusiastic, and his passion for the subject infectious. He was very inclusive – making sure that everyone in the class was equally involved and engaged, helping us to work together and learn from each other. I recommend everyone who is interested in ITIL training to use Xpertise - the training I received could not have been better.”
Another of Steve’s students, Alison Lochrie, who is the Application, Support and Development Lead for Oracle HR and Finance Systems at Sainsbury’s, agrees: “Steve really does enthuse you with the topic. You totally enjoy the training – Steve is honestly one of the best trainers I have ever been taught by, but he’s in good company: I’ve found that everyone at Xpertise is superb.”
These opinions are backed up by hard facts: the ITIL examination pass-rates of Leach’s students are significantly above the industry average. Leach is also dedicated to ITIL, being a topic he loves, he was one of the first to learn about ITIL v3 and become qualified in its delivery.
“Our customers regularly tell us that Steve is one of the best trainers there is – and he has thoroughly earned this nomination,” says Ben Pike, operations director at Xpertise. “Steve is a great example of how Xpertise consistently delivers a quality training experience – and he demonstrates the depth of knowledge and the passion that Xpertise trainers have about their subject areas, not only developing the skills of students, but also providing a real inspiration for them.”
The winners for the awards, along with winners for the British Computer Society’s other awards, will be announced on 6 December 2007 at a gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.