Meet the Team

Ben Pountney
Head of Business Solutions and Apprenticeships

I am delighted to have been appointed the new Head of Business Solutions and Apprenticeships.  I have worked at South Devon College for 3 years as first the Operations Manager for Apprenticeships and subsequently the Head of Apprenticeships as the Head of Apprenticeships. In that time I have made many employer connections and gained a deep understanding of the needs of local businesses, both in relation to training and skills development.

I believe it is important to foster strong connections between the education sector and the business world and am excited to continue the excellent work the college has been doing in this area whether that is out in our local community or by inviting you in to see the college and it’s amazing facilities.

Outside of work I enjoy a busy family life with my fiancé and three children. Further to this I enjoy a challenge and even ran the London Marathon last year! Not content with that, I am also completing an apprenticeship this year to expand my own knowledge and experience the process for myself.

Mike Laukkanen
Business Development Lead

I joined South Devon College in November 2020, having previously enjoyed a successful 20 -year career in Advertising, Sales & Marketing with Reach PLC.

I have always had a passion for building long-standing and successful business relationships, while adapting and developing business solutions to employers needs with clear and decisive communication.

My new role as Business Development Lead at the College will allow me to support Levy paying employers both locally and regionally, with high level training, business solutions and workforce development.

I love working in a fast paced, ever-changing landscape, acting as an ambassador and representing the College within the business community, underlining our mission of ‘inspiring our community through learning.’

Outside of work, I am the proud parent of 3 wonderful young children and when I do get some spare time, I enjoy playing Tennis, exploring our naturally inspiring coastline and watching my beloved Ipswich Town FC.

Gareth Parsons
Business Development Lead

I’m passionate about the positive impact that well-designed, employer-led training and education can have on the wider community. As Business Development Lead for South Devon College, I am empowered to help local, regional, and national businesses devise and deliver high-quality, commercially relevant skills for their workforce.   

I understand that no single approach to education and training is the right one for every employer, so I am always keen to work with my teaching colleagues to adapt and shape provisions to accommodate specific commercial needs. This process is enabled by my enthusiasm to always develop a deep working understanding of the needs of a business.   

I am available to employers to provide them with advice and guidance on the recruitment, learning, and financing options for their personnel development. This may consist of a combination of Apprenticeships, Funded training, or Upskill options for planned or existing employees. I am proud of the phenomenal opportunities that South Devon College can offer both learners and employers and love nothing more than having the opportunity to detail the exceptional benefits that a business is entitled to when they partner with us.  

When I’m not promoting the value of skills, training, and education, I can often be found cooking up a storm at my home in Totnes or enjoying the beauty of the South Devon Countryside with my wife Holly, son Tobin and Golden Retriever Ralph.

Scott Heyworth
Senior Sales Coordinator

As a Senior Sales Coordinator within the Business Solutions Team, I am responsible for responding to initial employer enquiries and proactively working with SMEs to identify training solutions to meet their business needs, to upskill workforces, and to help local businesses thrive. 

Having joined South Devon College in June 2021, I feel very lucky to say that I have enjoyed every minute of working with our fantastic portfolio of local businesses here in the Southwest and have developed many strong working relationships, particularly within the construction sector. 

Previous to joining the college, I was working within business banking, supporting local SMEs with their banking, savings, and lending needs, and networking with local businesses and organisations to build our portfolio of clients.  

Outside of work, I am an avid Chelsea fan, enjoy playing sports and gaming, and I also fancy myself as a bit of a singer/songwriter too! 

Colette Dalton
Senior Sales Coordinator

I joined South Devon College in 2022 as an Apprentice Recruitment Coordinator. Previously, employed as a tutor in adult education, teaching self-employment courses for various training providers around Devon.

I have over 10-years’ experience working on various government contracts, supporting people with disabilities and the long term unemployed to find work. A huge part of my role was to build trust, to be a mentor, and to build positive relationships with my customers and employers. The aim was to secure permanent employment that was satisfactory for both parties in order to be sustainable and a positive long-term outcome. 

In my earlier years, after leaving college, I was employed as a photographer for a large School photography company.  After 15 years’ service, I decided to put my experience into practice and became self-employed and relocated to Torquay with my young family to start my new business venture. I enjoy a challenge and over a three-year period, managed to grow a successful business and developed a good reputation for quality and reliability. It was important to me to support local businesses wherever possible, and I attended local Breakfast Networking events and made some good business connections in and around Torbay.

I am now a Senior Sales Coordinator and proud to be part of the South Devon College Business Solutions Team. I am looking forward to connecting with new people and would like us to work in partnership; to find solutions on how we can develop our local economy and support our community in understanding the opportunities available within education sector.

Johanna Pettett
Work Experience and Placement Lead

Having worked in education as a teacher for many years I joined South Devon College in January 2021 to work on developing and sourcing T Level industry placements. My new lead role also includes organising and implementing work experience across college, and managing the work experience coordinators.

I believe that young people should be encouraged to close the gap between college and employment by actively seeking and applying for industry placements or work experience. I can assist with work readiness and employability skills development for learners and have collaboratively developed teaching resources for this purpose.

Also, I provide support and training for work experience coordinators and tutors for using the Navigate program so learners and employers can digitally record attendance, work activities and references. This empowers the learners to reference  their experiences and employer feedback when applying for future employment.

I enjoy the challenge of creating, implementing and reviewing new processes and ideas across college. Outside work I am a keen kayaker, paddle boarder, mountain biker and family rambler.

John Currie
Work Experience and Placement Coordinator

As a Placement and Work Experience Co-ordinator my role within the Business Solutions Team is to work closely with college staff, students and employers, to source and coordinate suitable and sustainable placement opportunities for industry placements (T-Levels) and work experience for students on full time study programmes.

In addition, to assist with the development and maintain outstanding working relationships with external and internal stakeholders, particularly integrating industry placements into the existing work-based learning opportunities that currently exist, including study programme work experience, apprenticeships and traineeships.

With 25 years customer service experience in several industries including food production, engineering, automotive and aerospace, I look forward to building new relationships using my skills and knowledge in my new role at South Devon College.

When not in work I like running (both trail and road running), as well as walking, and stand-up paddle boarding. As a keen sportsperson with a career in rugby & football, I now enjoy attending live sporting events and music concerts.

Sam Eustice
Work Experience and Placement Coordinator

My role as a Work Experience and Placement Coordinator within the Business Solutions Team, works collaboratively with employers, students and college staff, to coordinate suitable industry placements (T-Levels) and work experience for our students who are on full time study programmes. 

I have always taken pride in building and maintaining positive working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders and look forward to developing those within industry placements and existing work-based learning opportunities that currently exist, including study programme work experience, traineeships and apprenticeships 

I joined the South Devon College team in 2023, having been a teacher and worked within education for many years, I’m looking forward to developing relationships using my skills and knowledge in my role at South Devon College. 

Outside of work, I enjoy various crafts, gardening,  walking on our beautiful beaches and Dartmoor.