Profile
Making a complete career change to become an Occupational Therapist following a long career in IT and Mobile Telecommunications.
Well equipped with the personal qualities required to fulfil the role of an Occupational Therapist including being a highly developed empathic communicator with children through to the elderly, an enthusiastic desire to improve people’s lives and a wealth of life experience.
Planning to take up an Occupational Therapy Assistant position in a site located in Berkshire area while taking an Access course (Open University modules) which will allow attendance of a four year in-service Occupational Therapy course.
Looking for an OTA position in an NHS hospital or other organisations which will support the aim of becoming a fully qualified Occupational Therapist specialising in one of: Mental Health, Paediatrics or the Elderly. Currently arranging shadowing sessions with OTs working in each of these disciplines at the local NHS hospitals in order to gain a clearer understanding of the roles.
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Key Skills and Experience |
Volunteer Age Concern Advocate
Caring for the financial affairs of elderly people in private residential homes. Included collection of pension and monitoring of savings to ensure benefits were not compromised. Considerable amount of time spent with clients communicating and advising.
Volunteer Classroom Assistant at Garth Hill Primary School, Bracknell.
Once a week, spent 2-3 hours working with two or more nine year old children with emotional and/or learning difficulties. Duties mainly involved assisting the children to read and various other tasks set by the class teacher.
Visiting the Elderly in Residential Homes
For many years I have had experience of visiting elderly people in residential homes in the context of regular voluntary visits to Parkhurst Residential Home in Reading and visits to friends and parents (my mother suffers from advanced suspected Alzheimer’s).
IT Technical Support in a Customer Services context
The last five years spent working as a Technical Support Analyst in the Mobile Telecommunications industry. This role has provided me with highly developed problem resolution skills and extensive communication skills using computer technology including instant messaging, email, web based remote control tools and the phone in both one -to-one and conference call scenarios. Due the role covering the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region I have experience of communicating with a wide range of cultures.
In general, I am a naturally intuitive communicator and have the ability to put people at ease in most situations. In my IT work role I spent a significant amount of time with colleagues in both counselling and coaching roles for personal and work issues.
Being a fully trained Electronics engineer I am inherently practical in my approach which is further tempered by my strong sense of intuition.
Employment History |
26 Aug 2008 – Oct 2011 Technical Support Analyst at Research In Motion Ltd, Egham
Working in the Strategic Service Delivery Team providing case based support to Strategic Carriers (O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile etc) in the EMEA region.
Oct 2006 – Aug 2008 Data Support Specialist at Vodafone UK Ltd, Newbury
Working in a Support team providing case based support to Vodafone UK customers with BlackBerry Enterprise Server installations.
Dec 2005 – May 2006 Lotus Domino System Administrator at Brighthouse Ltd, Reading
(Contract Job) Administration of the company’s email system and providing general technical workstation and application support.
Aug 1981- Sep 2005 3M United Kingdom Plc , Bracknell
2002–2005 Lotus Domino System Administrator
1998–2002 Technical Support Analyst
1981–1998 Senior Specialist
- Certified Six Sigma Greenbelt
Worked in the PC support team from the time before PCs were widespread (team of two people), through the introduction of the IBM PC, LAN technology supporting File and Printer Servers, to a global LAN infrastructure supporting a full electronic mail system (global team of more than 100)
1979 – 1981 Professional Technology Officer II at AWRE, MoD(PE), Aldermaston
Qualifications |
B.Eng(Hons) Electronic Engineering Sheffield University
Other Interests |
Movement Studies, Games, art, pottery, reading science fiction, contemporary jazz,, human behaviour & psychology, Alternative therapies, digital photography, sports.
David Pike BEng(Hons) 