Early start gave IT skills expert the career edge

“Sometimes, students just need to practice the same skill over and over again. Whether it be an Excel ‘if statement’ or working out the breakeven point from a graph, Build Your Skill resources will give a minimum of 15 practice tasks for every single topic.

“Time in fact to give students the expertise and confidence they need to be successful in whatever subject they are studying.”

Wendy’s entrepreneurial streak is clearly inherited from her father, Perth businessman, Gordon Blair, who owned Lovat Hotels and

Boatland Properties, a commercial and residential property company, which she now oversees.

“I started working as a waitress aged 13 in the Lovat Hotel and worked there as well as the Queens Hotel and Cairngorm Hotel in

Aviemore,” she recalls.

“It was a very good grounding in hospitality, waiting tables and working at the bar, on reception and in the leisure club as well as carrying out housekeeping duties. I understood the meaning of hard graft from an early age.”

She has spent most of her working life within Perth and Kinross after graduating from The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 2003 with a degree in Commerce.

She started her career with Stagecoach then joined her father in his business as Business Development Director aged 27 for Lovat Hotels Ltd.

Wendy then decided to go into teaching aged 33 and enjoyed a teaching career, most of which was as the Principal Teacher of Business Education at Breadalbane Academy before leaving to set up her own business, Build Your Skill.

“I initially concentrated on writing and selling resource packs to support Business Education subjects and then diversified into IT training,” she said.

“I do lots of Microsoft Office training, particularly Excel’ and have my own training room at Perth Airport but with nine laptops and my trusted suitcase I have trained all over Scotland.

“Since the pandemic it has been all change and we have all had to switch to Teams and Zoom for training. It has been quite a challenge for everyone but most of us are used to it now.

“However, I’m looking forward to getting back to face-to-face training again. Like many, I have also had the challenge of home-schooling two primary aged children over two lockdowns and running my business at the same time, and we have all just had to get on with it.”

Wendy’s links to Perthshire Chamber of Commerce also go back to her young waitressing days, helping to serve chamber lunches.

And she has no doubts about its effectiveness as a business development forum.

“One of my first customers was fellow chamber member the Binn Group and I am still working with them,” Wendy said. “I have picked up business through many Chamber of Commerce networking events.

“Through one of them I, am now an Associate Trainer for Fife College for Microsoft Office Short Courses.”

In addition to her heavy workload Wendy is also an Enterprise Facilitator for GrowBiz, helping others start out on their own business journey.