Blankcanvas Learning

Established in 2008, we are a “compact and bijou ” consultancy specialising in learning that makes an immediate connection to generate long-term results

Will Blanksby

An experienced learning and development facilitator with a passion for delivering learning solutions both face-to-face and online. Will is a lively fast thinking and has an abundance of experience developing people at all levels from front-line teams through to senior leaders.

He works to deliver solutions that are both practical and creative and ensures that the learning is consistently transferred and embedded in the workplace. His extensive experience ranges from creating and implementing bespoke induction to designing and delivering sales, service and leadership programmes. He will often work within an in-house team to develop their own training and coaching function to ensure a solid legacy

His lively and interactive style keeps learners engaged and creates a climate of confidence and trust. He specializes in creating memorable learning that delegates are keen to apply in the workplace. He has worked across Europe including UK, Sweden, Switzerland and France and has created materials for delivery in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Will has consulted to organizations in the mobile industry, retail, leisure, property, utilities, and banking.

He also has an odd fixation with garish corporate carpets as you can see…

Approach

OUTCOMES

The first question we ask the client is “what do you want to be different after the training?”. We will conduct a rigorous diagnostic to identify, not just what isn’t working, but also to spot the good stuff that needs modelling. This will form the basis for our learning outcomes and every part of the solution will align to this.

ENGAGE

We believe that we learn best when we are enjoying ourselves and learning is not something that is done to us. Whether on line or face to face we work hard to create imaginative and interactive workshops that involve, and challenge the learner. The workshops are fun, but every activity is aligned to the outcomes and has an application in the workplace.

CONSOLIDATE

It’s the frustration of every trainer when so many great learns and intentions never leave the training room and the beautifully designed materials are confined to the desk drawer. We take a robust approach to action planning and tailor a raft of follow up techniques including e-prompts and coaching to ensure that the learning is made to live on the job.

MINDSET

We don’t do scripts, and we don’t do robots. We believe that if you get the mindset right then the behaviour will follow and people will make the right choice. This is where we focus a great deal of your time and people are surprised at how contagious the right mindset can be.

Clients say...

"Will is amazing!"

Carl Lovelock

Client Services Director, Capita

“We have been working with Will over a numbers of years after he was recommended to us. Will is an extremely engaging, intuitive trainer, who uses lively activities to bring models and tools to life. Part of Will’s success as a trainer is his use of storytelling techniques to make training memorable which in turn makes it stick! Will is adept at understanding exactly what our training needs are – and bespokes training through consultation with us, offering a wide range of approaches/ techniques. I highly recommend Will and his approach.”

Lucie Nash

HR Manager, QMS

"We recently worked with Will to deliver a leadership development programme for c.450 of our field managers who had all recently started in new roles following a restructure. Will was our lead facilitator for the programme and did a superb job engaging delegates and leading them through the content in a simple and straightforward way, helping to make sure they understood everything at each step of the way. The way in which Will was able to bring to life real examples he’d witness during ride-a-longs and conversations really helped to build his credibility and got the delegates to buy in to him. He built a superb rapport with the delegates which was clearly evident in subsequent workshops, helping to ensure there was the right mix of fun and learning throughout the day, keeping energy levels high throughout. In addition to leading the workshops, Will also recorded a number of engaging videos to bring the content to life, helping to embed learning post the workshop. These have proved a huge value with Will managing to get key messages across and make an impact in a 60 second video. The feedback we have received from across the business from senior stakeholders to delegates has been extremely positive and we look forward to working with Will again in the future."

Owen Roberts

Change Manager, Openreach

"I have engaged Will on a number of strategic projects...His training solutions strike the perfect balance , deliver creativity and practicality in equal measure...Will is also a lively and engaging facilitator who creates a great environment for our team"

Steve Humphries

Central Operations and Retail Marketing Director at GVC Group

"Insightful and experienced, with his excellent rapport building skills and commercial acumen, Will adopts a true partnership approach and always delivers beyond expectations"

Linda Jodrell

Chief People Officer, Citation group