Jan Hopkinson Case Study

At the heart of every successful organisation is a commitment to the growth and development of its people. For Jan Hopkinson, Co-Founder of Smart Training and Recruitment, this isn’t just a business strategy, it’s a principle forged through a 22-year journey of transformation and resilience.

Starting her own career at 16 with few formal qualifications, Jan worked her way from hospitality kitchens into senior management, eventually overcoming her own personal barriers to education to become a successful trainer. This firsthand experience of how the right support and teaching methods can unlock a person’s confidence is what defines the “Smart” approach today.

Read her full story below:

1. Can you walk me through your career journey — how did you get started and what led you to this role?

I left school at 16 with very few qualifications but armed with a lot of confidence and an idea to work in Hospitality, as I had been working in that sector before leaving school. I was very fortunate to have a very empathetic employer who believed in me and supported me with regards to gaining knowledge and skills to work my way up from washing up in a kitchen into senior management. My journey took me fifteen years to achieve and during that time I undertook several training courses and worked with some amazing, supportive and inspiring people.

2. Was there a turning point or defining moment in your career that helped you become successful?

When I became a mother, I realised that I couldn’t work the long hours Hospitality demanded and decided to try and become a successful Hospitality Trainer. To do that I had to undertake several qualifications, including Maths which I’d failed at school. I remember being extremely nervous at the thought of trying to gain a qualification in an area that I had always shied away from and successfully hid from my employers thus far. I undertook some private maths lessons on a Saturday and eventually after about 15 months passed my Level 3 Key Skill Maths, equivalent of AS Level today. To say I was ecstatic and proud of myself doesn’t really cover it. What I learned from that is that it wasn’t the subject matter that caused me a severe lack of confidence but the teaching method. Once I told myself I couldn’t do it – I lived in fear of being exposed as to my lack of ability.

3. Did you always aspire to own your own business, or did your goals evolve over time?

I was fortunate to work with a brilliant training company and there was also a little luck here. My employers were wanting to give up delivering on the Isle of Wight and I was offered the contract which I nervously accepted. The risks were high but once again I used my confident nature to guide me together with my knowledge, skills, ability, and support from a wide variety of stakeholders, i.e. team members, employers, learners, funding bodies, awarding bodies and my family. Together we have built a successful company that has managed to support training and development for thousands of businesses and careers and has been in operation for over 22 years.

4. How did your earlier job roles prepare you to run a successful business?

I learned from the best in terms of management styles. I worked in a people business which meant that we always put people at the heart of what we did. People were our business, and therefore putting our own people’s skills, ambitions, abilities and engagement first was a natural given. Working my way up within a company gave me a deep understanding of how departments work internally, what is needed to make each department work together to bring about success both for the company and its employees.

5. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently throughout your career? 

I don’t think there is in terms of how I gained my qualifications through work-based learning. I think I would have tackled my fear of Maths much earlier on than in my early 30’s. This lack of confidence held me back at times from branching out earlier than I did. Having said that, I think it also gave me the empathy needed to support people with a similar lack of confidence to try. I understand how daunting it is and the fear factor failure that each and every new learner brings to the table at the start of their own learning journey.

6. How do you define success both personally and professionally?

Truly defining success is how does that make a person feel. We all feel differently about what success means. What I do know is that my success has helped others to be successful, by sharing good practice, knowledge skills and confidence. By delivering relevant, inspiring and outcome driven training. This in turn supports people to improve upon their own personal circumstances both personally and professionally. “Working together to Enrich Life” – our Mission Statement has worked for me professionally and we have used this to support our learners and businesses by providing high quality training programmes and business coaching to our customers.

7. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Take every good opportunity offered and don’t let a lack of confidence stop me from at least trying. If it doesn’t suit me then at least I gave it a try and understand what works for me and what doesn’t.

8. What has been your biggest professional achievement?

I have been very lucky with my professional career. That said I put a lot of work into improving myself with qualifications and being a better person. I have worked hard at listening to others, working with people with bigger skills and greater knowledge who could do things that I couldn’t possibly and appreciating them. My biggest achievement is the knowledge that I have supported others to achieve their life’s ambitions, improve their circumstances and enhance their life chances.