Each week TrainingZONE features a questionnaire completed by one of our members. This week it's the turn of Phil Vale, Director of Elephant Solutions.

Name: Phil Vale.

Position: Director.

How did you get to your current role? I left my previous company and have now set up my own training and consultancy company.

What are the best and worst aspects of your role?
Worst: Trying to find those illusive initial contracts.
Best: Freedom and flexibility or to put it simply quality of life.

What is your most over-used phrase? I don’t know, but my wife tells me I have a tendency to repeat myself. Say it once and shut up she says.

What is your most hated buzzword? Probably “the bottom line”.

What is the best lesson you have learnt? That training can be made to be fun.

What has been your best career moment so far? When I recently taught a group of 6th formers how to use critical path analysis and what to use it for.

What has been your worst training moment? Having to roll out a company-wide sheep dipping course which was created in the US for a US audience. We had very little room for manoeuvre on the materials, especially on the first run as the US authors were sitting at the back to make sure we could deliver the materials.

What will be the next big thing for training? Active learning. I think e-learning has had it hey day but now found its place in a training model, as have coaching and mentoring.

If you would like to complete a member questionnaire email the editor Claire Savage at mailto:editor@trainingzone.co.uk