Blue Heron Training is turning engineers into leaders

“My time in hospitality taught me how to lead and manage teams in high-pressure environments,” said Alex. “What I’ve found over time is that people have potential – as managers and leaders, it is our job to help people achieve their goals and, in the process, create high-performing teams that can thrive under pressure.

“That’s why we launched Blue Heron Training – to help businesses break down barriers to growth and unlock the potential of their people,” Alex added.

“We’ll provide the objective feedback, consultancy services and training that managers need to create a culture that is moving in the right direction.”

The company is already working with global brands in the energy sector, where there is high demand for management and leadership skills.

“We’ve noticed through our work in the energy sector that there are lots of very intelligent, technical and hard-working people who could benefit from developing their people skills,” said Alex.

“This sector is constantly evolving and dynamic, which will mean fast growth, high job creation and innovative thinking. Coupled with an accelerating pace of change, this could put a strain on management teams – and we are ready to help them succeed.”

Energy Ignite programme

Following a series of successful management training programmes, Blue Heron has developed its Energy Ignite programme, which offers tailored leadership and management training to businesses in the energy sector and supply chain.

The programme is designed to improve workplace culture, productivity and performance by turning technical managers into leaders of people.

“We’ve created two three-day training packages, one for senior and mid-level management and one for entry level or line managers,” said Alex.

The programmes are open to anyone – and priced to suit the budgets of all businesses.

“There are a lot of small businesses out there, which should have access to great development and training without having to spend thousands,” Alex added.

Training done differently

Blue Heron takes a holistic, humanistic and practical approach to training, which Alex believes gives it a competitive edge.

“We’re not an apprenticeship or qualification organisation; we’re more tailored and bespoke in terms of what we do. We like to offer practical development that’s much more orientated to what happens on the ground, rather than what’s in a curriculum.

“For example, we’re working with a lot of offshore personnel who don’t know what to do when they have a difficult conversation with someone who’s then sleeping in the bunk above them four hours later.

Alex Sellers, founder of Blue Heron Training (Image: Blue Heron Training)

“Our training has to work for people – to make that happen, we listen, adapt and open up conversations in the room.” The company can deliver training on or off site, although Alex often encourages clients to take a step away from their premises if they can.

“If people are struggling, they may wish to spend some time out of the business,” he said. “We can hire a number of different venues, so there’s plenty of flexibility.”

A new perspective

Blue Heron aims to build relationships quickly within training rooms, using humour to drive engagement and break any preconceptions.

“What we do really well is take the stigma out of training,” said Alex. “You’ll walk into one of our sessions with some preconceived ideas, and you’ll walk out thinking: ‘You know what? That wasn’t anything like I thought it was going to be’.

“You’re going to feel fully engaged, enlightened and maybe a little exhausted following our sessions because all of our training is experiential,” he added. “You’ll be doing loads of hands-on, practical activities rather than sitting through 50 to 60 PowerPoint slides.”

Each session is designed to create the strong team dynamic that’s essential to successful business growth.

“By being in the room for three days, we’re showing you what a high-performance team looks like,” said Alex.

“We’re showing you how to communicate; and we’re showing you how to use humour to lighten the load if you need to do that.”

Authentic expertise

Alex has already amassed a team of trainers from various backgrounds, albeit with a shared experience of senior leadership.

“We offer a holistic service that extends beyond the programmes into long-term consultancy,” said Alex. “To do that, we need people who have been there, done it and lived it, but who don’t have an ego.

“It’s about sharing that knowledge they possess internally, which allows them to see things with greater clarity.”

Having swiftly established itself as a trusted partner for the energy sector, it’s clear that Blue Heron Training is only just getting started.

“We want to help as many businesses as possible,” said Alex.

To find out more about Energy Ignite, please call 01603 298898, email hello@blueherontraining.com or visit blueherontraining.com/ignite and enter username: energy, password: ignite.