| 18 December 2019
“No research is ever quite complete. It is the glory of a good bit of work that it opens the way for something still better, and this repeatedly leads to its own eclipse.” – Mervin Gordon
Our Principal Research Manager Jon Parry wholeheartedly believes in the power of research and would agree his work is never done. Take a few minutes from your day to discover more about Jon and some of his current projects by reading through his blog below.
- What experiences led you to work for WD Trust?
I took a long and winding road that started in the steelworks in Sheffield. I was there 4 years working on the night shift – 48 hours a week (and they say we haven’t progressed!). I became a Union Official and jumped ship to do a degree in Politics. Subsequently, I left uni with a qualification that equipped me nicely to spend 3 years as a telemarketing team leader at Aviva. I escaped via a fire exit and secured a job as a Research Associate at Sheffield University (leading a project on political activism), followed by a position as Researcher to the Deputy Leader of the European Labour Party (no need to ask which way I voted on Brexit). I spent 6 years fighting the good fight and then started looking for a role which was focused on my favourite area of research – young people and widening participation. I got a job as the Head of Research at Connexions South Yorkshire, working across all the local authorities in the region. In 2009, I spotted an advert for a Head of Research for Skills for Justice, applied and got the job – the rest, as they say, is history. What have I learned over the years? I’m always suspicious of a tidy desk!!!
- What does an average day look like for you?
A mix of working on research and evaluation projects, bidding for tenders, crunching data, writing thought-pieces, attending meetings, battling to understand how to do my expenses and tidying my desk!!!
- What do you enjoy most about your job?
Variety; challenge; opportunity; discovery; my team and other great colleagues.
- What upcoming projects are you working on?
A fair old mix – as a team we share projects around, so at present (and for the near future) we’re involved in work on scenario planning for the Crown Prosecution Service; learning needs analysis for Border Force; skills audit in Jersey, Uganda and Egypt; competency/careers frameworks for HEE; evaluating Healthcare Horizons for Barts NHS Trust; People 1st International projects including World Host and conducting Labour Market analysis for employers.
- In a perfect world…
……we’d all sing in tune, but this is reality so gimme some room!
If you have any questions you’d like to put to our team, email us at contactus@skillsforhealth.org.uk. To make sure you don’t miss our forthcoming pieces about our team, sign up to our newsletter.