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Malcolm Holmes

Malcolm Holmes

00:00:02 My name's Malcolm, Malcolm Holmes, I'm Marketing Assistant, that's my day job, I also teach track cycling, skiing and wind surfing. I enjoy the variety of the work, and because we've got so many activities on offer, and facilities, there's a lot of different types of marketing that we try and - we try to attract people here. Because it's an Activity Centre you don't clock in, and you don't clock out at the end of the day, there's a good degree of flexibility attached to the job. And pretty much I can please myself how I go about my work.

00:00:40 When I was at school I believe I was a gifted student. However I didn't have a very long attention span, and I used to ham it up in the classroom for the benefit of my friends, and whoever else would listen. I really didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do, and that was part of my problem. I didn't have a goal to aim for. And when I look back on that, I often feel it was a shame that at that time I couldn't apply myself academically.

00:01:09 I left school at 17, and I started work as a Clerk at a local shoe manufacturers. After about five years I decided that it wasn't for me, and I wanted something a bit more active. A colleague of mine who I played football with, he was a Fireman, and he felt it was - I was ideally suited to it. So I went along for an interview, and I started work as a Fireman. When you're able to pull somebody out of a burning building, and you go home at the end of the day and you think about what you've done, there aren't - I can't imagine there's more satisfying ways to reflect on your day.

00:01:48 I'd achieved all my promotional qualifications, so I was qualified to run a station, but I was getting a little bored, and I thought a change would be a good thing, and I could go back to it at a later date. So I got a job in a ski resort, working for a Swiss company, and I went out there, spent the season there, spent the summer there, and then took some time out to travel. And I was away in total probably about eighteen months. When I came back, I tried to get back in the Fire Brigades, but wasn't able to do that. For me it was about - right, what do I do next? I've got a lot of working years to go, you know, what interests me most about my life?

00:02:32 I started working as a Leisure Attendant at a pool, and worked my way up the system till I became an Assistant Manager. During that time a large part of the work that I was doing was marketing, selling the courses that we offer, selling the swimming, all the activities. So when that job came to an end and a new one - a new opportunity came up here, it seemed an obvious sort of choice for me to make, so I came here, and I've been here ten years.

00:03:03 I got into coaching probably about seven, eight years ago. As part of the Club I was invited to take part in an initial coaching course, and gradually got more and more involved in it. When I came to Calshot - we've got a Velodrome, which is a very specialist piece of - specialist facility. And because it's specialist there aren't that many coaches around who can coach on the track. I'm lucky that in some ways it's fallen into my lap.

00:03:35 The next five years? Ideally I would like to improve my knowledge of web email marketing. In terms of my coaching work, I would like to take the next level of coaching that's open to me in the cycling world, because cycling has got a very big profile now in this country. And I think the opportunities, if you are highly skilled as a coach, are pretty varied and pretty wide.

Malcolm Holmes

Malcolm Holmes My name's Malcolm, Malcolm Holmes, I'm Marketing Assistant, that's my day job, I also teach track cycling, skiing and wind surfing. I enjoy the variety of the work, and because we've got so many activities on offer, and facilities, there's a lot of different types of marketing that we try and - we try to attract people here. Because it's an Activity Centre you don't clock in, and you don't clock out at the end of the day, there's a good degree of flexibility attached to the job. And pretty much I can please myself how I go about my work. When I was at school I believe I was a gifted student. However I didn't have a very long attention span, and I used to ham it up in the classroom for the benefit of my friends, and whoever else would listen. I really didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do, and that was part of my problem. I didn't have a goal to aim for. And when I look back on that, I often feel it was a shame that at that time I couldn't apply myself academically. I left school at 17, and I started work as a Clerk at a local shoe manufacturers. After about five years I decided that it wasn't for me, and I wanted something a bit more active. A colleague of mine who I played football with, he was a Fireman, and he felt it was - I was ideally suited to it. So I went along for an interview, and I started work as a Fireman. When you're able to pull somebody out of a burning building, and you go home at the end of the day and you think about what you've done, there aren't - I can't imagine there's more satisfying ways to reflect on your day. I'd achieved all my promotional qualifications, so I was qualified to run a station, but I was getting a little bored, and I thought a change would be a good thing, and I could go back to it at a later date. So I got a job in a ski resort, working for a Swiss company, and I went out there, spent the season there, spent the summer there, and then took some time out to travel. And I was away in total probably about eighteen months. When I came back, I tried to get back in the Fire Brigades, but wasn't able to do that. For me it was about - right, what do I do next? I've got a lot of working years to go, you know, what interests me most about my life? I started working as a Leisure Attendant at a pool, and worked my way up the system till I became an Assistant Manager. During that time a large part of the work that I was doing was marketing, selling the courses that we offer, selling the swimming, all the activities. So when that job came to an end and a new one - a new opportunity came up here, it seemed an obvious sort of choice for me to make, so I came here, and I've been here ten years. I got into coaching probably about seven, eight years ago. As part of the Club I was invited to take part in an initial coaching course, and gradually got more and more involved in it. When I came to Calshot - we've got a Velodrome, which is a very specialist piece of - specialist facility. And because it's specialist there aren't that many coaches around who can coach on the track. I'm lucky that in some ways it's fallen into my lap. The next five years? Ideally I would like to improve my knowledge of web email marketing. In terms of my coaching work, I would like to take the next level of coaching that's open to me in the cycling world, because cycling has got a very big profile now in this country. And I think the opportunities, if you are highly skilled as a coach, are pretty varied and pretty wide.

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Marketing Executive Manager/ Sports Coach/ Outdoor Activity Instructor

Age at filming:
46-55,
Employer's name:
Calshot Activities Centre,
Job location:
Southampton

Malcolm Holmes is Marketing Assistant, but he also teaches track cycling, skiing and wind surfing. He had worked in the fire service, then travelled to Switzerland to work at a ski resort. When he returned the job at Calshot 'fell into his lap' and now he wants to gain more specialist qualifications. "I think the opportunities, if you are highly skilled as a coach, are pretty varied and pretty wide".

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