Deborah is a highly skilled professional Trainer, specialising in Business English, Personal Development, Customer Service, Leadership & Management, and Business Ethics. She is a UK national, who has lived and worked in France and the UAE, and has been a resident of Abu Dhabi since 2001.
Deborah holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), major in “Workplace Psychology” from the Swiss Business School. She is CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) and DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualified. She has an ‘extensive / breadth and depth knowledge of content area’ in all three modules of the University of Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Tests (TKT); ‘Language and background to language learning and teaching’, ‘Lesson planning and use of resources for teaching’, and ‘Managing the teaching and learning process’.
She has great experience of teaching English within the UAE Tertiary education sector, having worked in the Higher Colleges of Technology and other prominent UAE academic institutions. She has also worked on teaching and training projects in the public and private sectors, including the Abu Dhabi Police Officers’ Training College, Etihad Airways, The Presidential Flight, The UAE Central Bank, and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Deborah began her working career within the UK Civil Service after completing her education in 1980. Her promotion in 1983 brought the responsibility of training newcomers to her department, and in 1988 Deborah moved into training within the Civil Service training section.
In January 1991, she moved to the private sector to further enhance her communication skills and language abilities. A move to Paris enabled her to master the French language, and a two-year management post with ‘The Disney Store’ in Paris, gave her valuable experience in sales, customer service, and staff management.
With the arrival of her first child in 1996, Deborah took a career break and studied to obtain a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Diploma in 1998. This qualified her to move into the English Language field, taking a post in December 1998, as a Corporate Teacher with a new English Language School in France – the ‘Wall Street Institute’. As the school expanded, Deborah became involved with both the development of specialised programmes for business people, and the organization of the growing management structure. In June 1999, this resulted in her being appointed to the post of manager for the ‘Wall Street Institute’ Language School, in the centre of Paris.
In November 2001, Deborah relocated to Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters, where she restarted her teaching career, delivering English Language and Business English at the ADNOC English Language Training Centre. In addition to this, she was involved in preparing and tutoring students for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), PET (Preliminary English Test), and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examinations.
Since her arrival in the UAE, Deborah has taught at many of the leading Tertiary institutes in Abu Dhabi, including Abu Dhabi University, Zayed University, ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council), HCT – Abu Dhabi Men’s College, and The British Council. She continued her passion for English Language teaching, while at the same time widening her field of expertise by moving on to train in courses, such as Communication Skills, Management, Telephone Skills, Time Management, Personal Development, Customer Service, Presentation Skills, etc.
In 2008, Deborah decided to update her training skills, successfully completing a one-month intensive CELTA. This reawakened her interest in further developing her skills and led to her completing a one-year diploma programme in 2010 – the higher-level DELTA (Diploma of English Language Teaching to Adults).
In January 2011, Deborah joined Spearhead Training, Abu Dhabi, as a Senior Management Associate. She is one of the longest serving Trainer in Spearhead, known for delivering top quality and excellent training courses with high energy and passion for her subjects.
In 2015, she attended an ILM Assessor & Internal Quality Assurance Workshop conducted by City & Guilds – ILM, to assist her in delivering the ILM Course and Approved courses, now being offered by Spearhead Training.
In 2018, Deborah decided to undertake studies for a Master’s degree to advance her knowledge and experience in the professional world, and in May 2019 she was awarded by the Swiss Business School with an MBA (major in Workplace Psychology).
In March 2019, Deborah was invited by the Emirates College for Advanced Education, in Abu Dhabi, to participate as a member of the Three-Day Skills Assessment Committee, aimed at establishing the MOE / NQA / ECAE Vocational Education Teacher National Occupational Standards.
From March 2020, Deborah has been significantly involved in adapting, piloting, and developing the Spearhead Training Face-To-Face Courses, to be run as Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT). She has been an integral part of the Spearhead team who were instrumental in the launching, continued development, and success of these online programmes.
Deborah’s key areas of expertise include:
Management & Leadership
- Developing Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Supervisory Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Leading High Performance Teams For Stronger Business Performance (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Coaching For Optimum Performance (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Coaching – The ‘GROWTH’ Model
- Managing Teams (Including Remotely)
- Motivating Your Employees
- Giving Effective Feedback
Business Skills
- Creativity & Innovation Workshop
- Strategic Thinking & Planning
- Creative Problem Solving & Decision-Making (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Event Management (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Planning & Organizing Skills – Achieving Your Highest Priorities
- Change Management
- ‘Introduction To Design Thinking’ Workshop
- Enhancing Business Etiquette
- Crisis Management
- Critical Thinking
HR / Human Capital Management & Training
- Human Capital / Human Resource (HR) Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Competency-Based Interviewing Skills – For Recruitment & Selection
- Train The Trainer – Group Training Techniques (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Developing A Training Needs Analysis
Customer Service
- Excellence In Customer Service
- Customer Care & Telephone Skills
- Etiquette For Excellent Telephone Skills
- Customer Relationship Management
- Developing A ‘World-Class Customer Service’ – As A Competitive Strategy
Administrative Skills
- Office Management & Administration (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Professional Secretarial & Administrative Skills
- The Perfect PA – For PAs & Executive Secretaries
Sales And Marketing
- Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Negotiate Like A Professional!
Personal Development
- Presentation Skills – Making A Powerful Impact On Any Audience (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Advanced Presentation Skills
- Self & Time Management
- Stress & Anger Management In The Workplace
- Developing Effective Interpersonal & Communication Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Assertiveness Skills (& Dealing With Difficult Situations)
- Understanding Emotional Intelligence (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Work-Life Balance
- Building Your Personal Brand
- Anger Management
Business Writing Courses
- Professional Business Writing Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Advanced Business Writing Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Report Writing For Business
Additional Courses (In-Company Only)
- Teambuilding customised content for a wide range of group sizes and clients’ needs / goals to be achieved
- How To Conduct Effective Meetings
- Taking Minutes Of Meetings
- Be A Better Listener – Active Listening Skills
- Brilliant Body Language!
- Business English Foundation Course
- Technical Report Writing
- Email Etiquette
- Leadership & Management
- Effective Business Communication
- Managing Across Cultures
- Multicultural Awareness In The Gulf
- Simplification Of Work Procedures
- Writing Effective Job Descriptions & Person Specifications
- Performance Management & Appraisals
- Happiness In The Workplace
- Conflict Resolution
- Positive Employee Feedback Skills
- Self-Management And Professionalism In The Workplace
