Welcome to Brazen Careerist!

About Me

Dr Barrie Hopson
A psychologist by training, Barrie was Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Lifeskills International. Beginning in 1978 as an educational publishing company pioneering the use of open learning in schools and business the company developed into being specialists in improving organisational performance through aligning human resource management to business goals.

It was perhaps best known for its consultancy services and learning materials for delivering outstanding customer service, employee development programmes, competency based performance management, culture change programmes, learning delivery systems and career management programmes. The company is now part of the VT Group.

He was also joint managing director with Mike Scally and subsequently Co-Chairman with of Hay-Lifeskills Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hay Group.

Barrie was director of the Vocational Guidance Research Unit at Leeds University and then set up the Counselling and Career Development Unit at Leeds University in 1975 and was its first Director until 1984. He has worked widely as a consultant to business and educational organisations in the UK, USA, Far East and Europe. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the British Institute of Management.

He has written thirty nine books and numerous articles on personal and career development, quality service, transition and change management, generic training skills, marriage and Lifeskills teaching. His best known books are “Build Your Own Rainbow”, “12 Steps to Success Through Service”, the series of “Lifeskills Teaching Programmes”, the textbook on “Lifeskills Teaching” and “The Rainbow Years: The Pluses of Being 50+”.

He has set up 5 successful companies in the UK and one in the USA.

He set up Three Albion Place Ltd. as a successor to the Leeds Club which combines the functions of a private members club, a conference and events business whilst striving to be a centre for social and cultural communication in Yorkshire. He remains a non-executive director.

He is Chairman of Axia Interactive Media, a company which operates from the UK and Canada, who are specialists in web-based solutions to support lifelong learning and professional development.

He still consults at senior level with companies and organisations using new technology to further learning and development at management levels.
Barrie, with Mike Scally, has developed a web enabled learning programme for Learndirect aimed at convincing people of the pluses of being 50 plus. It was launched in January 2008 http://community.learndirect.co.uk:80/community/community/50forward. He continues to blog on this topic at www.theplusesofbeing50plus.blogspot.com.

He has just completed a book with Katie Ledger: “And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career”, to be published in October 2009. He and Katie blog on this topic at www.portfoliocareers.net. It was published in the US in May 2010 by Bloomsbury USA.

Education

• Leeds University
• 1966 - 1969

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