Mentor Training separates from Mentor Digital

Mentor Media Training becomes independent consultancy

PRESS RELEASE

A Bristol based, industry-leading communications consultancy has been bought by its principal consultant.

Mentor Media Training has been acquired in a management buyout after 21 years in Upper Kingsdown by its lead consultant/trainer, former BBC and ITV journalist, Dave Mason.

The firm is the UK’s only provider of CPD accredited courses across media, crisis, presentation skills and social media simulation. It runs courses in Bristol but also works across the UK and internationally for the private, public and charity sectors, as well as Government departments.

Dave Mason, who’s been with the firm for five years and is now its Managing Director said; “It’s very exciting to take ownership of the training arm of Mentor and develop long term partnerships with PR agencies, public and corporate organisations and crisis management firms around the country to bolster our high-quality courses and consultancy.

Buying the business means that we can offer some exciting new digital training products to test business continuity and organisational resilience. These include a social media simulation platform, called ‘Splutter’, where clients can run their own exercises for building staff confidence on customer-facing social media, or crisis exercises.”

The digital media agency and video production divisions of the business have undergone a rebrand and remain with its original owners trading as Mentor Digital in Bristol.

Dave was a founder and launch voice of Somerset’s first commercial radio station, Orchard FM in 1989, going on to present and produce programmes at HTV West, BBC Radio 5 and Radio 1, ITV News, and Breakfast TV station, GMTV.

Article Author: Dave Mason

Dave is Mentor Media Training's Managing Director. He is a CIPR Accredited Practitioner and regularly trains for the PR industry institute. His extensive career in broadcasting spans 30 years across radio and television. He has coached executives from major public and private sector organisations, as well as the UK Armed Forces/NATO, around the world for the past decade. Dave is respected for his inspiring training, which is supportive and concentrates on fast learning development. A founding presenter and shareholder of Somerset’s Orchard FM, he went on to work extensively in commercial radio around the UK, as well as BBC News, where he was a Correspondent at BBC Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 Newsbeat. Dave has been a TV presenter, reporter and producer at ITN, GMTV, (ITV Breakfast), ITV News Westcountry and HTV West. He was one of GMTV’s senior producers for a decade, covering major international, domestic, political and entertainment stories. His roles have included senior news producing and planning, undercover investigations, war reporting and features production. Dave still broadcasts as a crisis communications pundit on Talk TV / Radio, BBC Radio and is a visiting lecturer at several universities. He is a non-executive Trustee of community station Radio Bath and the author of 'Handling the Media In Good Times & Bad'.