Mark Whitfield

HND Computing Graduated 1990

 

1) How did you get to where you are now?

 From Leigh College, I studied a HND in Computer Studies at BIHE in 1988 – 1990 (Distinction). I started work as a Junior Programmer in Runcorn at a software house called The Software Partnership. I progressed to Lead Analyst in Support over a 5 year period before moving to Insider Technologies Limited in Salford Quays to take up a Senior Programmer role. I have been in Salford Quays for 14.5 years (working for the same company) and have progressed to Technical Initiatives Manager. http://www.markwhitfield.net/cv.htm| <http://www.markwhitfield.net/cv.htm|>  

 2) What has been your biggest achievement or experience so far?

 There have been many. I work closely with the sales department and frequently represent the company at IT conferences both in the UK and abroad. In this pre-sales capacity, I also present the latest ITL software updates and initiatives to conference delegates attending from key European banks. I will be tripping to Madrid at the end of the month (April 2010) to attend yet another conference relating to ATM and POS transaction processing software.

 As part of my primary management role at ITL, I successfully headed up a team to design and deliver mainframe ATM and Point-of-Sale monitoring software to HSBC bank in 2008. Prior to this implementation, I was heavily involved with the joint architects, Alliance & Leicester in Bootle with the initial design, development and project management of the product. I also provide out-of-hours technical assistance and support to the Bank of England, Royal Bank of Scotland and Euroclear (formerly CRESTCo).

In the early nineties, employed by The Software Partnership (Deluxe Data International Operations, Runcorn), I worked in-house and on-site at Barclays in Knutsford on the Barclays Business Master II Pathway application (BBMII). I also spent 3 months in Poole, Dorset designing and coding a billing add-on application for the BBMII project before returning to Runcorn.

Over the last year I have redesigned and rewritten the entire company website ( at http://www.insidertech.co.uk| <http://www.insidertech.co.uk/|> ) and increased the website ranking to page one of Google and other search engines. This has meant learning Windows ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005 technology as well as attending website authoring, design and prominence courses. I have also upgraded my own personal website to use this same technology.

I shouldn't forget my partner and I went to the far east in late 2004 to visit Japan, Thailand and Cambodia.

3) What are your future plans and ambitions?

 

Ideally I would like to work for MediaCityUK BBC North in the technology department (moving up from London in 2011). I have added a group to LinkedIn which now has 1024 members and keep a MediaCityUK Photographic Timeline Journal of the development at http://www.mediacityuksalfordquays.net/mcuk.htm| . We have a baby on the way at the end of May to join our 4 year old daughter and so family plans and holidays will also feature highly alongside career aspirations.

 4) What made you choose University of Bolton/Bolton Institute?

A stroke of luck really. I attended Leigh College (now Wigan and Leigh College) and went back after my A level exams to see if I could do another A level (inside a year) to gain enough points to go to University. At the point of talking to the Head of the Department at Leigh, a colleague of his walked in and asked me if I had looked at any late vacancies. I said 'no' and we looked at Salford and Bolton who both were running HND courses in Computing. I chose Bolton as I had a friend (from Leigh College) who was doing the HND course also. The rest is history and to this day, I don't know who the man was who suggested I look at late vacancies and what would have happened if he didn't walk into the room when I was talking to the Head of the Department. Until that moment, discussions about doing another A level inside a year were looking positive. Despite this, I think it would have been a 'negative' move and going to Bolton (BIHE) was the right move for me and have never looked back.

  5) How has Bolton University/Institute influenced your career?

 I always say that Bolton Institute represents the best 'school' days of my life even though I was in my late teens at the time. It was really at Bolton that I discovered my academic self and achieved my greatest academic achievement. I graduated with a Distinction and came top over the 2 years with 10 Distinctions and 2 Merits. I think my HND equipped me with enough programming knowledge in COBOL to take up a role as COBOL85 programmer in Runcorn, for a small software house. From here, I have progressed into other programming languages and technologies but without the firm basis of a good HND pass, a profession might have been out of reach. I attended a few banking interviews after my A levels but with no offers. After my HND, I went to 2 interviews and got offers from both. I look back at my Bolton days with great fondness and even record them on my website along with work / project excerpts.

 6) What advice would you give someone wanting to work in a similar field as yourself?

 Focus on practical and useable skills for your profession, e.g. programming in the case of Computing. I remember interviewing students as part of the company milk round interviews in Manchester. The students had Computing Management degrees with no actual technical experience. When I graduated at 21, I couldn't possibly expect any software firm to put me in a management position before getting any shop floor experience. Enjoy what you do. Try and choose a course that is your passion and you find interesting. My first few years in Salford Quays were very hard but I enjoyed the challenge because I enjoyed programming. Don't stay in a job role too long unless your being championed and your package is competitive. Bolton Institute was good for me and I only wish they did Computing degrees when I was there. I would have jumped straight onto one from my HND course, no questions asked. Having said that, I have not been held back, not yet at least.