Recently, we caught up with former Weston College student Dave Trevaskus, about his journey from studying in Weston, to now being the Head of Retail Training at the LEGO Group.
Read the full interview, below:
Who are you and what is your job role?
My name is Dave Trevaskus and I am Head of Retail Training at the LEGO Group. We have over 1,000 stores around the world, and my team helps roughly 860 of them to create amazing experiences for anyone who walks in the door. We work closely with the LEGO Designers and the Retail Managers to make sure we design and deliver the learning in a way that works for a flexible retail workforce, meaning that everywhere from a small high street store in Mexico to the huge LEGOLAND in Shanghai you get a consistent LEGO experience but delivered with a local flavour.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey from Weston College to where you are now?
I’m not sure you’ve got enough space to cover the entire journey I’ve been on! I studied Maths, Business and Spanish in the late 1990’s but really didn’t know what my career would look like. I found full-time education a challenge, and I wanted to get into working as soon as possible so I didn’t go on to university. Instead, I found myself in several sales jobs in call centres before moving on to car sales (I actually worked in the old MJ Cook & Sons Renault garage which was on the site of the current South West Skills Campus on Locking Road!) and then into a pretty demanding job as a Recruitment Consultant in the global financial crisis in 2008.
Looking back, how did your own career path evolve over time?
I had no clue what I wanted to do except enjoy myself and earn money so I could watch football! Of course if you see yourself as an Engineer, Scientist, Teacher etc then you need to have relevant qualifications and a structured path ahead of you but I really didn’t know what I wanted to do so I didn’t have any of that.
Looking back, I always loved learning but didn’t thrive in a formal learning environment, so my career developed by learning from my own mistakes, making good and bad choices, and a large amount of luck putting myself in the right place at the right time. I’ve benefitted from working under some amazing leaders who have inspired me to be the best version of myself I can be, and I think that’s all we can realistically aspire to be – better today than I was yesterday.
Were there any pivotal moments or unexpected opportunities that shaped your career in ways you didn’t anticipate?
Looking back at my career, I have seen growth or opportunity arise through moments of challenge and struggle. I’ve been fired from a job for underperforming, I’ve quit a toxic working environment, I’ve seen an employer go bankrupt, I’ve been made redundant during a pandemic – and each time I’ve learned something that I can take to the next place I find myself in.
I landed in a Learning and Training job luckily; after leaving recruitment in 2009, my wife had a job at a training company in Portishead who paid me to go to call centres on behalf of Nokia to promote their latest smartphones. Within 5 years I was managing the Nokia Training Academy – I had accidentally discovered a job I was good at and thoroughly enjoyed.
How important has adaptability been in your career - are there any specific examples you would like to include?
I firmly believe that you get nowhere by sitting around waiting for chances. It’s much easier to find work when you’re in work, so I’d do anything to keep working no matter what the job was.
At times in the early/mid 2000s I found myself working in a pub in Wrington, I was a part-time night porter at Cadbury House Hotel or parking cars in the winter rain at Bristol Airport but these are the times I learned the most about myself, my self-belief and my resilience.
Take any opportunity to learn something – since working in Training I have learned how to facilitate learning effectively, how to present to large audiences, how the brain learns from a neuroscience perspective and how to use certain psychology tools to build relationships and influence people. All of this now helps me empower tens of thousands of retail staff to create awesome experiences for shoppers and their kids.
What advice would you give to students who feel uncertain about their future career path?
Geroge Clooney sold shoes, Albert Einstein worked in a patent office, James Dyson studied classic literature and Nicky Minaj worked in a seafood restaurant – where you are now, does not define where you will go. Be curious and have an open mind. Do whatever you can to work, no matter where you go, and this might possibly open a door or open your mind to an opportunity you didn’t know was there.
When I was getting two buses from Yatton to Oldmixon every morning for two years I had no idea I’d end up working for the world’s most reputable brand, but I wanted to learn about the world, and I wanted to see more of it in action.
In a world where industries and job roles are constantly evolving, how can young professionals stay open to new opportunities and remain agile in their careers?
Be brave and hang around outside your comfort zone – try new things. If you’re a promising and aspiring Engineer of course you need to qualify in an Engineering subject, but is there another way of learning in your world? What else can you try? Also become familiar with tools like AI because, whether we like it or not, AI is going to be as common as smartphones or electricity itself – you don’t need to know exactly HOW it works, but it is going to power everything so we’d better get used to it!
If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of career advice, what would it be?
This is hard because I love my life and my job right now, and everything I have done or experienced has led me to where I am. Every mistake I’ve made or every choice I’ve faced has given me the learning opportunity I needed to get here. I’d say I should have travelled more, or sometimes not taken the path of least resistance, for example I only studied Spanish A Level because I could speak Spanish at the time so I thought it would be easy but because I wasn’t challenged I ended up failing where I could have used my time better.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I referenced it above, but I truly believe that Curiosity is our biggest superpower. A desire to understand a subject or a product, seeking to know more about something or someone is what stands us apart and builds unbreakable bonds. I think it can appear to be a scary world at times and it’s not going to get better by doing things alone. Empathy and human connection is the only way to improve ourselves and the world around us.
A big thank you to Dave for his time.
If you would like to study at Weston College, you can find out more about our courses, by clicking here.
