Training, development and support for the team are core values at RSK Biocensus This extends beyond technical and vocational training to include training our employees to provide effective and appropriate wellbeing and mental health support.
Last month, Nicky Lloyd, Rebekah Fitzmaurice, Kim Olliver and Julia Richards attended 2-day Mental Health First Aider training at our Coventry Office. This was provided by Simon Osborne of Cheshire First Aid; Simon is an excellent trainer, many of our team have already benefitted from his expertise both on-line and in-person.
Nicky, Bekah, Kim and Julia are now qualified Mental Health First Aiders. They join the other 7 MHFAs already within the business, who make sure that they are available whenever they are needed to support their colleagues and signpost them to additional help, including to our excellent employee assistance provider Health Assured.
Nicky said “I have been on the waiting list to do this course as I think it will be a massive benefit to myself and others to be able to understand how to deal with certain situations. As soon as a space became available, I jumped at the chance to go on the course and after doing the course I can relate this a lot to situations I have already been in and realised I dealt with them the way we have now been trained which was great. Simon is such a great trainer and so engaging with everyone I would highly recommend anyone to do this training if they can and are able to”.
Bekah said “I have been on a waitlist for a while to attend this course, when the opportunity came up, I was definitely happy to take it. The course was intense and difficult at times, but Simon made it very safe and easy to learn. It was especially helpful to hear how certain words or phrases could be misinterpreted to different people. The course was very relatable to life scenarios I have been in before and now I feel better equip to handle these instances”.