Read our series of Marketplace Spotlight interviews with the people who are making the Yocova platform come alive. Here we speak to Keith Howells, Managing Partner of Project4 Learning Lab (P4)about how he came to become involved in aviation, how Project4 Learning Lab is helping to turn the challenges the sector is currently facing into opportunities, and the benefits Yocova provides in bringing the industry together.
Four years ago, Keith Howells, a trained engineer with over 20 years of experience in aviation in aerospace, civil and defence roles at Rolls-Royce, established Project4 Learning Lab (P4), a consultancy that helps organisations accelerate the speed of learning within their business and field.
We talk to Keith about P4, the opportunities, and challenges in aviation today, the benefits Yocova brings to the industry, and what led him to work in aviation in the first place.
Can you tell us about Project4 Learning Lab?
“Project4 Learning Lab has been up and running for four years now. We provide consultancy services to help our clients accelerate the flow of work in their organisation. That could be a flow of work through a process or throughout an organisation. We provide a number of different solutions, ranging from simple training and coaching support, to full-scale consultancy.
We work with organisations across a number of sectors and it’s really interesting to reflect on the similarities and differences between them, particularly in highly regulated sectors like pharmaceuticals and aviation. Because of our cross-sector experience, we can take the benefits from one sector into another.”
What challenges does P4 enable organisations to overcome?
“Many organisations are full of talented people with great potential, but often they’re not aligned and engaged in helping the organisation to meet its higher-level goals. So, a lot of what we do is connect teams’ and individuals’ work to support what the organisation is trying to achieve. And we make this a positive process as much as possible to help people feel good about it.
For example, we’ve recently been working with an OEM manufacturer on a massive product development programme with a scope and scale that they had never worked to before. They’d found it difficult to get their whole team working in the same direction. So, we’ve been working with their senior leadership team to get aligned on the vision and direction of the programme and configure their teams so they’re really optimised to deliver. The results have been very positive. They’ve been measuring employee engagement over time and have found this to have improved and there’s better communication among staff now that the overall goal is clear. The C-Suite also get more reassurance through better visibility over the effects of the change in some of their KPIs.”
Can you tell us about your background in aviation?
“I’m an engineer by background and I joined Rolls-Royce straight after I finished my degree in Mechanical Engineering. I progressed through a number of different roles, mainly in design and product development. But after that I broadened my experience and started to work on transformational change in organisations, and developed a mix of technical, programme management and people-related skills.
In terms of what attracted me to the sector, it goes back to my school days, when I won a competition for making a bridge out of bits of newspaper and tape. I’d never won anything before that, so I was thrilled. My prize was a book of the core levers, pulleys and engines and in that book was a jet engine. From that point in time, I was really fascinated and that set me on a path into the industry. Aviation is really cool – I just love it.”
What are your thoughts on the sector now given the challenges it faces?
“I think the aviation sector has never been more challenging. It’s undergone massive change rapidly and it feel difficult and overwhelming. So, I think what’s important to focus on are the things that can make life better and how we can be more adaptive and flexible to that change. Sometimes we call it going from slow to flow and that means getting aligned and engaged so we can move forward quickly together. When everyone’s pulling together and moving in the same direction with a common purpose, it feels really good.
I think it’s actually a really exciting time to be in aviation. Change always brings opportunity and I believe that the people who exploit that will look back on this period positively. And I also think Yocova is such a great platform for connecting the industry and it will help to make a difference and fuel growth in the sector.”
Why did you choose to join Yocova?
“We’re quite open and curious to new things, so when we were approached and asked if we wanted to join, we were really intrigued by the idea. Yocova enables knowledge and experience sharing and I think anything that brings the whole community together has to be a good thing. So basically, when the opportunity to join came along we jumped on it and have enjoyed it ever since.”
What key benefits do you think Yocova brings to the aviation industry?
“I think connection is the main thing. Yocova not only connects the aviation community, but it also connects problems with solutions. People in the sector face problems every day, and there’s also a lot of experienced individuals and organisations on the platform, so I think having the ability to connect and more easily move forward from challenges is really powerful.”
What benefits have you experienced as a result of your Yocova partnership?
“After spending some time learning how to use the platform, we’re now using it heavily to make connections, and help people with challenges and how to approach them. And we’re starting to join groups such as the COVID 19 and Digital Data Roadmap groups. From that I hope I can bring some experience to the groups, but also learn from others about the challenges they are facing.
For P4, Yocova has been a great help in providing a platform for our organisation within the sector and it has enabled us to increase awareness about what we do and how we can help. It’s been incredibly useful for us as we seek to grow our business.”
Finally, what would you say to people considering joining the Yocova platform?
“It’s a no brainer. I think anything that enables you to expand your network, meet new people and learn new things has to be good. There isn’t really a downside, so I would say, don’t hesitate. Just crack on.”
For more information, to contact or collaborate, contact Keith on Yocova via his personal profile.
Author: Yocova
Published: 10th January 2023
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