I LOVE MY JOB!
Simon Corke, viva, Head of Learning & Development
Where did you go to school? Caister High School
What path did you take to get to your current positon? I was due to atend college afer
leaving school but chose to go straight into work instead as I wanted to earn money. I
joined Norwich Union and have been working ever since - which was 30 years ago!
What subjects did you study? Normal GCSEs at school, no levels but I achieved an Open
University Diploma in Management whilst working at viva, which was very useful as had
practcal applicaton in my day job.
How many jobs have you had, and can you name them? Probably about 10, either in Hu-
man Resources or Learning & Development. I started as the office assistant so right at the
botom and worked my way up. I’ve been a Trainer, HR Consultant, Talent Consultant and
HR Business Partner and now Head of Learning & Development
What school subjects link to your career? English and Maths as I needed them to get my
first job. I’ve had to learn on the job mainly, but the Diploma in Management was invalua-
ble and I stll use it now. What’s the lesson? Vocatonal learning is good.
typical day in your current role looks like: Quite varied really although usually involve
meetngs with other colleagues, coaching my team, working out ways in which we can im-
prove the capability of our workforce at viva.
What skills do you use daily, that you learnt at school? Listening, asking questons and be-
ing curious - invaluable whatever job you have.
What is the number #1 piece of advice you’ve been given that helped you with your
career choice? ttude is everything—be positve, work hard and believe in yourself.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Doing a similar role to what I do now, although per-
haps more independent training & coaching.
What is the average salary for this role? round £80k
If you could have done anything differently on your career journey, what would it be? I
would’ve moved into a customer facing role earlier in my career - there’s no substtute for
getng close to customers and what they want. It’s the reason companies exist.
Why do you love your job?
Working with some great people at viva, the variety and autonomy I
have and seeing the benefit of what we implement͘ It’s a great compa-
ny to work for!