Staff Profile – Mark Bullimore
With 20-odd staff delivering between 11 and 14 courses a month around Western Australia, there’s no such thing as a typical day for TAG’s General Manager of Training.
Whether he’s chasing up equipment for a construction course up north or dropping into a course down south, Mark Bullimore must ensure up to 250 students a day are receiving the best possible training.
He says it is all about teamwork.
“We have an extremely good bunch of staff who I don’t say work for me — but we work together as a team,” Mark said.
“My job is to make sure they get what they want or need to do their job properly, and I’m also highly focused on the logistical functions of the operation.”
Mark, who has three trades of his own (carpentry, cabinet making and machinery) and spent 21 years in the forestry industry, started as a trainer with TAG in its infancy nine years ago.
While he may not travel around the state as much as he did back then, Mark still sees himself as a trainer – only now he’s training the trainers.
“I know what they need because I’ve done it and in most cases I can pre-empt it, because I understand the job and the machines, and I can drive and operate the machines,” he said.
Mark also never loses sight of what’s most important – getting people through the training and into jobs.
“When you’re focusing on somebody’s self-esteem and when you get someone who feels like no one wants them anymore, and you can lift them back up to the point they can get a job, that’s just the best,” he said.