Who We Are

As Managing Director, Nicola’s role is the strategic development of the Company, leading her team of professional trainers and consultants. 

As one of the founding members of Specialist she has been involved in a variety of roles from sales and customer service to finance and operational management. She took over as Managing Director in 2015 with a vision to grow the Company regionally, focussing their expertise in the transport of dangerous goods.

Nicola is also a qualified Dangerous Goods Consultant and Trainer who likes to keep up to speed with the evolving DG Regulations.  She is also an RTITB Forklift Truck Instructor who likes to keep her hand in so you may even catch her in the warehousing delivering the odd course or two!

Outside of work, Nicola enjoys family life and, when she has time, keeps herself trim by going to the gym and walking.

Mark is the Technical Director of Specialist and also the Company’s senior consultant for dangerous goods, waste and safety matters.

He is one of the founding members of the Company.  Although Mark’s degree was in Business, he soon moved his intellectual focus into the world of safety and dangerous goods.   He has a formidable knowledge of the technical and regulatory aspects of dangerous goods and waste and has developed a national reputation for his expertise in many areas.  In particular he is regarded as a leading expert in the transport and disposal of clinical and infectious waste.  He is a regular guest presenter at a variety of professional organisations and NHS managers’ events.  Mark also has expertise in the transport of other specialised dangerous goods loads such as radioactives and explosives.   Mark is an accomplished trainer and still likes to keep his hand in teaching on DGSA and specialised dangerous goods transport courses.

In his spare time he enjoys family life, cricket and walking his two dogs

Vicky is the Operations Director responsible for overseeing the operations at the head office and main training centre in Lancashire.  

Vicky oversees the main operations team and ensuring the day to day running of trainers and consultants. She has a Business and Finance degree and has worked in a number of administrative and managerial jobs in other industries before joining Specialist over twenty years ago.   Vicky has built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of what it takes to run the operations of a complex training organisation and is a vital cog in the Company’s operation.

Vicky is also a qualified Dangerous Goods Consultant who has a keen eye on ensuring our clients are compliant.

In her spare time Vicky’s interests revolve around her family, but she always finds time to keep herself active and is a keen walker.

Victoria joined the company in July 2017 following a successful career in the retail and banking sector. 

Victoria is the first point of contact and is responsible for arranging all our customer courses and sending out all necessary correspondence.  Victoria will also contact our customers in the future to remind them of their expiry date of their certificate and to re-book their refresher course.

In her spare time Victoria enjoys exploring the countryside on her motorbike and has taken part in several tours across the Country.

Please give Victoria a call on 01282 687095 if you require any assistance with any training.

Rebecca joined the company in April 2022 following a period of self employment in business support and administration.

Rebecca has very quickly become a valued member of the Operations Team, responsible also for arranging all our customer courses and sending out all necessary correspondence.

In her spare time Rebecca enjoys the countryside and spending time with her beloved West Highland Terrier, Arthur.  Her new found hobby is Stand Up Paddle Boarding which often takes her to the Lake District.

Please give Rebecca a call on 01282 687098 if you require any assistance with any training.

Kevin joined Specialist in 2013, following a career in the Fire Service where he served for over thirty years.

Kevin has proved himself to be a very valuable member of the team and even reached the finalist of the Talent in Logistics Driver CPC Instructor of the Year in 2018.

Kevin is the Senior Trainer responsible for the delivery of First Aid and Fire Training, but has also developed his skills to include transport related training including Road Haulage CPC and Driver CPC.  More recently however, he has spent a chunk of time auditing Healthcare waste for the NHS.

Kevin spends his spare time with his wife and grandchildren, as well as exploring the countryside.

Bernard joined Specialist in October 2018, following a long career in the Transport & Logistics sector.

Bernard has gained his skills and experiences in training and development when working for some high profile industries in East Lancashire and Sellafield.  In addition, Bernard also likes to keep his hand in and occasionally goes out driving trucks.

Bernard has become a valuable member of the team in a very short space of time delivering a wide range of courses such as Driver CPC and Fork Lift Truck.

When Bernard isn’t working he loves to explore the World!  His passion for travel and seeing the world shines through when chatting to him.

In 2020, Autumn graduated from Huddersfield University with a degree in Logistics. 

Since leaving University, Autumn entered the transport industry and quickly gained her Class 1 driving licence, soon travelling up and down the Country moving various loads, including Dangerous Goods.

Having grown up in a family, heavily involved with the sector, it seemed only natural to join herself.

In January 2023, Autumn joined our team as a trainee trainer, where she immersed herself into attending as many courses as possible.

Through lots of hard work it didn’t take Autumn too long to master her skills and increase her levels of expertise, gaining an enviable list of qualifications!

When Autumn is not in the classroom delivering ADR courses, she’ll be in the warehouse delivery Forklift Truck training.

Carl joined Specialist in February 2023 as a Forklift Truck trainer having spent many years as a Forklift Truck assessor on apprenticeship programmes.

Carl is keen on learning new skills too, having recently spent time on upskilling his own First Aid knowledge so he can add this to his portfolio of skills.

In his spare time, he enjoys to get out and about, and often takes part in work socials.

Eve started her Business Administration career after completing a year at full-time college but decided it wasn’t for her!

Eve switched her career in September 2023 to do a Business Administration Level 3 apprenticeship after deciding she preferred to be working and earning money, whilst at the same time doing her qualification attending Burnley College 1 day each week.

Eve has a friendly face greeting all our customers for registration on their first arrival.

Eve settled in really quickly, already having a positive impact on the business.