Open day event highlights new team development experience for apprentices

A MIDLANDS centre, which draws on military, business and engineering perspectives to fine-tune team performance, is holding a taster session to showcase its pioneering approach in the training and development of apprentices.

Dragonfly’s Team Synergy Centre provides forward-thinking organisations across the region with access to team development opportunities.

The Centre is holding an open day on the 26 March 2020, aimed at business leaders, HR managers and training managers with responsibility for the development of apprentices, to show them more about the facility.

Located at Ednaston Park, on the outskirts of Ashbourne, the Dragonfly Team Synergy Centre has been developed by Army Colonel Adam Fraser-Hitchen and former Army Captain, Amanda Foster.

As Chartered Engineers and, in the latter part of their careers, business development strategists through their consultancy Dragonfly Directors, they have both drawn on more than 60 years’ experience, from barracks to boardroom, to create this unique facility.

With a blend of boardroom sessions and outdoor, all-weather command tasks, the one-day development sessions are designed to challenge participants and encourage them to develop a mindset that values effective problem-solving, decision making, parallel thinking, planning and collaboration.

Amanda Foster, Managing Director of the Dragonfly Team Synergy Centre, said “In the military, command tasks are used to exercise mental agility, positively develop team mindsets and assess leadership potential.

“We’ve adapted that approach and put it into a business setting, with the aim of showing participants how to expand their thinking skills in order to problem solve and develop business intelligence.

“For apprentices, it is particularly useful to understand the ‘why?’ so that they can maximise their productive output and embrace a company’s organisational values in a dynamic and unique way.

“Those companies that have put their trainees through the programme have reported a significant increase in individual and team performances.

“This is a team day that creates a culture of collaboration from the word go, with skills that can be introduced into the workplace immediately and remain of value for the longer-term.

“As well as apprenticeship development, Dragonfly’s Team Synergy Centre methods can be used to improve an array of business needs at all levels, such as change management, business analysis and innovation, project management, and planning. Directors’ days have also been designed to improve best practice across diverse SMEs.”

Places at the open day, which takes place between 10am and 12.30pm on the 26 March, are limited to 12 delegates. This opportunity will expose visitors to some of Dragonfly’s tools and techniques and allow them to experience some of the tasks first-hand.