A former army Staff Sergeant is firing up a new career with Warrington-based reseller Avandda.
Steve Goddard spent 22 years in the army, deployed to areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Cyprus and Northern Ireland, most recently flying Unmanned Air Systems (UAS).
"It's the end of my military career which I have enjoyed and I am now transitioning into civilian life," he said. "For my resettlement I am going in to the telecommunications sector. I've done military telecommunications such as satellite comms and Wide Area Data Networks, so this is a natural fit now."
Goddard (pictured left) was part of a group of resellers who took part in in-depth training courses at Nimans' Manchester headquarters to boost his Samsung technical knowledge. A three-day OfficeServ Foundation course was followed by a two-day programme about Samsung's sophisticated SVMI voice messaging solution.
"I've just started a job as a Project Co-ordinator with Avandda, which I'm grateful for," Goddard continued. "It's been a bit of a learning curve as I'm only just starting off and I need to get some hands-on experience. But I'm a lot more knowledgeable now. The course has been a massive stepping stone."
The two courses were some of the first technical training events to be held in the north, as opposed to Harlow in the south, explained Nimans' Head of Systems Sales, John Mckindland who emphasised that 'plenty more will follow'.
He explained how the entry-level OfficeServ course forms the foundation of all engineer training. Hardware, end points, configuration and programming feature in the comprehensive content. SVMI voice messaging placed particular importance on how to deter toll fraud, as well as focusing on menus, modes and installation techniques.