Michel is a highly regarded Trainer, with over 35 years of corporate experience. He is a Canadian national, of Lebanese origin, fluent in English and Arabic. Michel holds two Master’s Degrees, his first in Multicultural Education (Florida State University, U.S.A., in 1985), followed by an MBA completed in 1999, with Leicester University, UK.
Throughout his career, Michel has developed his skills as a Management Trainer, Change Management Facilitator, Project Implementer, and Decision-Maker. These skills have allowed the organizations for which he has worked, to achieve their goals through effective and competent Human Capital Management.
Michel’s passion has always been people development. He enjoys presenting courses and workshops, building relationships, and working with delegates to enable them to broaden their experience, develop new skills, and implement those skills back in the workplace. He believes that effective training should be measured by improved efficiency and performance at work.
Michel has in-depth experience of the training and development needs in the Oil and Gas industry, having worked for Aramco (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) for 11 years. Part of his role at Aramco involved a thorough training needs analysis, in partnership with relevant line departments. From this analysis, he developed skills portfolios, leading to job certification at both engineer and technician levels. He subsequently implemented a Trainer Certification Programme for key staff, to implement the skills portfolios to equip the engineers and technicians with the correct job competencies. The programme was built on a range of dynamic workshops, such as Train the Trainer, Setting Goals and Objectives, Time Management, Developing Course Materials, Coaching and Counselling, Working in Teams, Project Development, Presentation Skills, and Assessment of Training Outcomes.
Continuing his passion for training, in June 1992, Michel moved to Muscat, Oman, to take up a role as Training Manager with Shell International. In this role he was responsible for the management of a team of eight facilitators, who covered technical on-the-job training, as well as supervisory skills development. This team was responsible for the introduction of a series of exciting challenges, which enhanced the company’s performance. One major project was the development and implementation of a Mentoring Programme that oversaw the recruitment, training, and placement of Omani University graduates in key production and maintenance roles within Shell Oman. Michel also took on responsibility for managing a team that delivered management training and leadership programmes to junior, middle, and senior managers, and newly appointed supervisors.
In 1996, Michel’s focus on development and training took him to the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Dubai, UAE, as a Senior Lecturer for the Careers Programmes. He was appointed to be a member of the Foundations Team. This team had responsibility for developing a Vocational Diploma Programme, based on the need for a competent workforce in defined disciplines. At HCT, Michel led a series of change management projects, and was promoted to Head of College Services. In this capacity, he managed and coordinated the output of multiple departments and sections. Key areas included: Student and Academic Services, Student Services, Educational Technology, IT, and the Student Council.
In 2008, Michel left HCT, and joined Dubai Cables (Ducab), as HR Manager for Training, Manpower Development, and Retention. In this role he managed a team of 11 professionals. His key responsibilities included Training and Development, Recruitment, Performance Management and Organizational Alignment. He also developed career plans, and trained and assessed a particular level of talented employees of different nationalities and job levels. Part of his role involved providing ‘internal consultancy’ to line managers on HR issues, as a means of enhancing the partnership between HR and the other company departments.
His commitment to self-development and lifelong learning has motivated him, to pursue a programme of continuing education and training with a number of leading universities and establishments. He does this by keeping up-to-date on applied research conducted by these institutions. This includes areas of adult learning, training, development, and business case analysis of leading global companies.
Michel is committed to delivering high-quality training to his delegates. He brings energy, passion, motivation, and enthusiasm into the training room. His goal is to ensure his delegates learn and practise new skills, and identify ways to implement them ‘on the job’. He has wide experience in working with people of different cultures and language backgrounds, and his excellent multicultural communication and presentation skills make his training sessions a unique and rewarding experience for his delegates.
In 2014, Michel joined Spearhead Training as a Senior Management Associate. His 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)
Business Skills
- Strategic Thinking & Planning
- Creative Problem Solving & Decision-Making (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- The Fundamentals Of Project Management (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Event Management (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Planning & Organizing Skills – Achieving Your Highest Priorities
- ‘Introduction To Design Thinking’ Workshop
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)
- Writing Effective Policies & Procedures
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
Sales & Marketing
- Professional Sales Skills – The Key Elements Of Successful Selling (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Negotiate Like A Professional!
- Advanced Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Be A Master Negotiator!
- Managing A Winning Sales Team!
- Strategic Marketing – For Today’s Business!
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)
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)
- Human Asset Optimisation
- Driving Performance – Key Competencies
- Competency Mapping / Workshop
- Leadership / Management / Coaching
- Effective Business Communication
- Teambuilding
- Leading Through Competencies
- Enhancing Call Centre Efficiency
- Performance Management & Appraisals
- Writing Effective Job Descriptions & Person Specifications
- Essentials Of Marketing & Preparing An Effective Marketing Plan
- Conflict Resolution
- Multicultural Awareness In The Gulf
- Happiness In The Workplace
- Taking Minutes Of Meetings
