Corporate

Happy 35th Birthday

Happy Birthday, IBM i! 🎉🎂

Today, we celebrate the remarkable journey of an iconic technology that has shaped the world of computing. For over five decades, the IBM i platform has been a beacon of innovation, reliability, and adaptability. It has played a pivotal role in driving businesses forward, empowering countless organisations with its robust capabilities.

On this special day, let us reflect on the profound impact that IBM i has had on the industry. From its early beginnings as the AS/400 to its evolution into the modern IBM i, this platform has continuously evolved to meet the ever-changing demands of the digital era. It has proven itself to be a trusted companion to businesses across diverse sectors, providing a stable foundation for their operations.

We acknowledge the dedicated community of professionals, developers, and enthusiasts who have contributed to the growth and success of IBM i. Your passion, expertise, and unwavering support have fueled the continuous improvement of this remarkable platform.

As we celebrate this milestone, let us also embrace the exciting future that lies ahead for IBM i. With its exceptional reliability, security, and scalability, we can be confident that IBM i will continue to be an integral part of the technological landscape for years to come.

Happy Birthday, IBM i!

Thank you for revolutionising the way we do business and inspiring generations of innovators.

Here’s to many more years of success, progress, and endless possibilities. 🚀✨

At KFA we have a team with a deep knowledge and understanding of the IBM i and provide outstanding support for our customers. We offer flexible support terms to meet any customer needs.

For information about how we can help your business, get in touch with our team today.

Juliet Ward – Operations Director

Girls Don’t Do Technology

Education in girls’ grammar schools in the late 70s did not cater for a desire to follow a technical path.

Apparently, it was only for boys, and I was strongly encouraged to think about becoming a lawyer, a dentist, an optician maybe even a doctor.

Needless to say, as a somewhat stroppy opinionated teenager in whose parents had installed a belief that anything is achievable this did not make for a happy school life.

I had made up my mind that if I could not ride horses for a living then I was going to be a computer whizz.

So Now What

I ended up leaving school at 16 with a few ‘O’ levels under my belt feeling pretty disillusioned.

I tried a few different things none of which I had any enthusiasm for and at the age of 18 decided to go to college to do some ‘A’ levels. I chose Maths, Computer Science and Electronic studies.

I was the only girl enrolled in the second two.   

Whilst I was waiting to start college I took a job in a factory lab making gas detection equipment and one day one of my colleagues came in saying a notice had gone up on the staff information board advertising a role for a trainee programmer.

All you needed was a few basic ‘O’ levels (tick) and to pass a programming aptitude test to get an interview. Egged on by my work mates I thought why not give it a go as it may at least give me an idea of whether I had the correct mindset for programming.  

Amazing Opportunity Number 1 

As luck would have it the test was right up my street and I passed with flying colours, probably the only thing I have ever passed that way and after an interview I was offered the job of trainee RPG programmer.

I was being paid to learn the very thing I had wanted to do … Result.

The first part of the training involved 3 to 4 months of courses at IBM in Basingstoke and that was that… my IT career was off and running and I progressed up through junior programmer to Analyst programmer and team leader.

Family

In the early 90s we decided to start a family and although I returned to work after my first child I quickly realised that I was missing too much being at work.

I decided to take a career break to be at home with my young family and loved every minute of it.

I Need A New Kitchen

At the end of the 90s my poor kitchen was desperately in need of a makeover, well the whole house actually.

My youngest child was starting school, so the answer was to get back to work.

However, 7 years is a long time in IT, lots of things had changed beyond all recognition. I was very nervous that I would not be able to cut it.

On a night out with some of my friends from my old team I mentioned that I was thinking that maybe I was going to start looking.

One of the guys worked for the then named “Kingfisher Associates” and said he would ask them to consider talking to me if any roles came up. I went home and more or less forgot about it as I thought why would they want someone who had been out of the game for that long.  

Kingfisher Associates 

A few weeks later I received a call from one of the directors asking me to come for a chat. I was terrified.

When I had left programming the disk cabinets were the size of a washing machine and the IBM system 38 was housed in a fully climate-controlled room the size of a double garage. Massive printers coughing out pages and pages of prints for every department and great big tapes you had to hand spool onto the tape drive and change every hour to do the back up.

Kingfisher had an AS400, the system 38 replacement – in a server room under the stairs that was the size of a desktop PC. Those years had also seen the explosion of the internet, another terrifying concept. I was so scared I offered to work for nothing to start with whilst I worked out whether I could do it.

Needless to say, it was like I had never left within a week.    

Over the next 14 years I became more and more involved with our biggest customer learning everything I could about their business so that we could provide the best service.

I still had that desire to solve things for people. I began doing more solutioning, analysis and design but still liked to get dug into some programming on occasions, if it was easy enough that is.     

Amazing Opportunity Number 2

In 2013 the owners of the company offered me and another colleague the opportunity to complete a management buyout. I can’t say I had been expecting it, so it was a shock and after the first meeting where they put this to us, Richard (my colleague) and I went and sat in the pub and just stared at each other.  We hadn’t known each other for that long but we decided we had to give it a go.

2023

It will be our 10^th anniversary this year and it has been an amazing 10 years. The people who had been our colleagues supported us and became our employees and we have a great team that we have fun with both in and out of the office.

I still get a kick out of providing good IT solutions and although my business partner was chosen for me I could not have picked better myself. 

My chosen career has allowed me to fulfil a childhood dream in to live in the countryside with endless space to walk my 3 dogs, ride my horse and spend time with my 2 gorgeous grandchildren.

It also allows me to travel to see my son who lives in the US.

It was totally the right path for me and how I wish THEY could see me now.

Apparently, girls don’t do technology it’s a boys’ job!!!!

Juliet Ward

Operations Director – KFA Connect

A Day in the Life of an IBM i Support Specialist

As an IBM i Application Support Specialist, your job is to ensure that the applications running on the platform are functioning correctly and that any issues are resolved quickly and efficiently.

In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at a typical day in the life of an IBM i Application Support Specialist.

Start of the day is typically checking emails for any alerts and checking system dashboards to ensure there are no immediate system errors that need a response. Early morning checks of the systems are completed and customers are alerted of any issues.

In addition to checking applications, we will also check any replication/mirroring systems and system back-ups to ensure everything is in order.  

Throughout the day we work customer tickets as they are raised and/or calls are taken. Our Level 2 support manages user request tickets and reacts to system error message queue alerts. We work within the agreed customer SLAs to ensure all tickets are completed/responded to on time.

Tickets raised that require a more in-depth knowledge of the application will be managed by the L3 team. These will also be responded to and completed within agreed SLAs.

On the rare occasions when there are hardware issues with the IBM i we deal directly with IBM or a 3^rd party MSP providing advice, system logs and access to data centres where required.

When we receive alerts from IBM re. security updates to the operating system we will plan and execute a roll-out of the changes onto our customer’s systems. This will normally involve applying the changes to a test partition where we can, over a period of time, ensure it does not adversely affect the applications or system performance. Once satisfied that it is safe to apply the security changes, a planned change will be agreed with the customer(s) to minimise system outage.

Ongoing application maintenance is worked within our support team. Where small software bugs are identified we will develop fixes within the team, the test team will ensure the changes are working correctly and regression testing will ensure other areas of the system still function correctly. All application maintenance changes are implemented as part of a monthly release.

Within our support team we work closely with the project teams, we need to understand what and when changes are being delivered into production. We ensure the necessary hand-over documentation is in place and the software is tested and fit for production release.  

Part of our support service is to attend regular service reviews with our customer operations teams to provide SLA reporting and to discuss any ongoing issues. We also provide data to help support  SOX compliance and internal system audits.

As IBM i Application Support Specialists, our work is essential to the success of the business. We are responsible for ensuring that the applications running on the IBM i platform remain stable, secure, and efficient. By following best practices, such as maintaining good documentation and prioritising critical issues, we can help ensure that applications running on the IBM i platform run smoothly and that any issues are resolved quickly and efficiently.

At KFA we have a dedicated IBM i support team who ensure the smooth running of our customers applications, hardware and operating systems. We provide 24/7 support when required and look after back-up and disaster recovery planning.  To find out how we can help your business, get in touch with our team today.

Anonymous

KFA Connect – IBM i Support Specialist

12th June 2023

Want to know more? Get in touch with our team today.

Nicki Smith – Sales Manager

In the Beginning

My background has always been in sales, but sales found me – rather than the other way around…

I left school at 16 and started a 1 year ‘Travel & Tourism Diploma’ at Bournemouth & Poole College. 

I’m the first to admit that I chose this path because the course included a week ‘study trip’ to Magaluf, Majorca – typical 17-year-old decision making at its finest right there! 

Not a lot of learning took place on that trip.

Airport Life

From the College, at the age of 17, I secured work experience as a ‘Traffic Agent’ at Bournemouth Airport – which I absolutely loved.

I threw everything into the three-week work placement, and at the end I was offered a permanent job and so that was the end of my carefree college life – as the summer season was about to begin and the airport needed me!  

For those who know me personally, it will probably not surprise you to learn that one of my favourite tasks, was making the flight departure and arrival announcements and looking after the crew and passengers from the private jets!  

One very rich man (with a very nice private jet) from somewhere in the UAE once offered my boss 6 camels and 2 Land-Rovers in exchange for me.  

To this day I am not sure if that guy was serious or not, my boss said he was tempted to accept the offer… but who would check in the next flight? 

Teeth 

I was a dental receptionist for a couple of years, when one of the four Dentists at the practice thought it would be a great idea to put me through the training to become a Dental Nurse.  

I had to reverse out of that career path pretty quick though – as every time I assisted in surgery it would end with me passing out, turns out that was not one of the key skills they were looking for.   

Furniture 

Feeling like the role of anything ‘Dental’ was probably not for me, I moved on to an admin role at a furniture store in Bournemouth. At weekends the store was always busy, so I would often escape out from behind my desk to help on the sales floor.  

This was a bit of lightbulb moment for me – I had really found my ‘thing’! 

I was outselling the full-time sales staff (much to their disgust) and because of my knowledge of the backend processes of the store, was very quickly promoted to Assistant Manager. 

In my twenties I spent much of my time troubleshooting at underperforming stores the length and breadth of the UK. These experiences taught me to be a good communicator, logical problem solver – and a really good listener too.  

Managing and motivating sales teams and producing results came easy for me and I was Store Manager at the company’s flagship store in Hedge End, Southampton (and had married the top performing salesman in the country) by the time that my career in Furniture ended – to go on maternity leave.  

Corporate Sales 

I took a role at a hotel chain in the New Forest as Senior Corporate Sales Executive. This was my first experience of B2B sales, and I quickly learnt that this required a completely different approach to selling direct to consumer. These B2B transactions are not at all emotive and much more to do with the quality of the service, and of course the price, but also the relationships our team built with the customers which kept them coming back.  

KFA Connect 

The opportunity to join KFA Connect in 2015 arose at a time when I was definitely ready for a new challenge.  

New to the IT industry, I admit I was a bit daunted at first – I had a lot to learn but once I realised that no one expects me to be technical and have all the answers, I started to relax.  

My role as KFA Connect Sales Manager is varied.  

I am responsible for promoting KFA’s services and develop initial relationships with potential new customers. As such, I am often the first-person new individuals and companies will speak to at KFA.  

I gather as much information as possible regarding project requirements, then involve individuals from the wider KFA team, based on the project requirements. I aim to give the working relationship a good beginning and hopefully effectively portray how passionate the whole KFA team are about developing long-standing business relationships and providing a good service! 

In addition to the new business sales activities, I also look after the KFA marketing.  

On the marketing side, I’m always working on new ideas to help raise awareness of the software development, integration, test and support services we offer. 

I manage the two KFA websites, including blog pages and various social media accounts. 

I naturally slipped into the role of KFA social events planner (I wonder why); Christmas Parties, Summer BBQ’s and curry nights in between – I’m the one to get you on the party list!  

Family Life 

My kids are most definitely not kids anymore, which makes me feel super old!  

My Son, joined the Army and my daughter has just finished her final weeks of her GCSE’s.  

Over the years our family has grown, with the addition of two British Bulldogs, who are a constant source of amusement (and mess!).  

When I’m not working, I enjoy walking my dogs, family holidays, reading, Yoga and gardening.  

My love for spin classes is not quite so strong, but I go anyway… 

Recruiting the Best IBM i Developer

The IBM i platform (formerly AS/400), is a popular choice for businesses looking for reliable and efficient business applications. However, finding the right IBM i developer for your organisation can be a challenging task.

The IBM i development environment is complex, and the developer you hire must have a good understanding of the platform’s architecture, programming languages, and tools. In this blog, we’ll provide you with some tips and strategies to help you recruit the best IBM i developer for your organisation.

Document the Role and Responsibilities

Documenting the role you are trying to fill will provide you with a list of your requirements.

Detail the daily tasks, responsibilities, scope of the work, Hours etc.

This will not just highlight the list of required/desirable skills (both technical and non-technical) but will identify whether it is actually an Analyst Developer you need to hire or a Developer.

It may be that you just need a developer to code off the back of a prepared dev spec, or you need them to be able to consider your whole system and analyse the impacts involved with the changes required, which means you will need a Business Analyst or Analyst Developer.

IBM i Skills to Look For…

You will probably now have a list of technical skills that you know the role needs. However, it’s also good to look for candidates who understand and have in-depth experience of the IBM i Operating System.

The IBM i platform has its unique set of programming languages, tools, and technologies.

When recruiting an IBM i developer, make sure to look for candidates with experience in RPG (Report Program Generator), COBOL, and CL (Control Language) depending on your requirements.

Knowledge of SQL, Java, and web development frameworks like Node.js or Angular is also beneficial. IBM i developers should also be familiar with the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and tools like Rational Developer for i (RDi), which is an essential tool for developing applications on the IBM i platform.

Find Candidates with Industry Experience

IBM i is commonly used in industries such as manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and retail.

Finding an IBM i developer with experience in your industry can be a significant advantage.

Developers with industry experience will have a better understanding of the specific challenges and requirements of your business. They’ll be able to design and develop applications that are tailored to your business needs.

Check for Certification

IBM offers certification programs for IBM i developers. These certifications are a good way to verify a candidate’s skills and knowledge of the platform.

For example, candidates who have earned certifications like IBM Certified Application Developer – ILE RPG or IBM Certified Application Developer – WebSphere Development Studio have demonstrated their proficiency in the platform and programming languages.

Conduct a Technical Interview  

A technical interview is an excellent way to evaluate a candidate’s technical skills and knowledge of the IBM i platform.

You can ask questions related to programming languages, tools, and technologies used on the platform.

You can also give the candidate a coding test or ask them to walk you through a project they’ve worked on. This will give you a good idea of their problem-solving abilities, programming skills, and attention to detail.

Look for soft skills

While technical skills are essential, soft skills are equally important. Look for candidates who have good communication skills, teamwork abilities, and a willingness to learn.

IBM i developers must work closely with other members of the development team, project managers, and business stakeholders.

They must be able to communicate technical concepts to non-technical team members effectively. They should also have a passion for learning new skills and technologies.

In conclusion, recruiting the best IBM i developer requires a careful evaluation of technical skills, industry experience, certification, and soft skills.

The IBM i industry is relatively small in the UK and you will often find candidates who you have either worked with before or you know someone who has worked with them. Experience and word-of-mouth recommendations go a long way to finding the best developer for your team.

Struggling to recruit? Get in touch to find out how our team of experienced IBM i developers can help support your business.

Anonymous

KFA Connect – IBM i Support Specialist

8th June 2023

Want to know more? Get in touch with our team today.

Hilary Palmer – Change Co-ordinator

After leaving school, I completed a secretarial and accounts course at a local college.

My first job was with an insurance company, followed by a job in administration at a local pottery, the production of which was most interesting.

Later, whilst working for an Estate Agent in a local market town, I was approached by an ex-colleague and invited to work for an American company, Allen-Bradley, later bought out by Olivetti.

I first worked in the accounts department, and this is where my introduction to computers began. I was offered the chance to learn support work and programming for the new System 34 they had purchased, and eventually took this over full-time.

After 12 years, I moved to Ryvita doing a similar role working on a System 36 initially, before the company upgraded to an AS400.

After a few years, I decided that I wanted a bit more variety and a chance to work on different systems, and I was lucky enough to be accepted for a job with KFA Connect (known as Kingfisher Associates at that time).  

I am the Change Co-ordinator for software deployment and carry out Quality Assurance checks once a development is complete, and I also support the test team with triaging any defects.

I still do some software development and system support.  

No day is the same, and I love learning new things and I am very grateful for the opportunities that have come my way. The directors have supported me through some challenging times in my life as have my colleagues, and I will be forever grateful for that, they are a great team to work with and socialise with.

I really enjoy working for different customers on their systems developing software and carrying out IBM i support work.

I just love the variety of work and the challenges of solving problems and providing customers with support whenever needed.

When I am not looking at a computer screen, I love being out in the fresh air, gardening, walking in the countryside and doing anything associated with horses and ponies.

I enjoy travelling abroad, but I am just as happy investigating and visiting new places in the UK. I like going to the theatre when I get the chance, or just catching up with friends over a meal and a glass of wine.

Want to know more? Get in touch with our team today.

A Growing Business with Disjointed Processes

Over the years your organisation has put in place bulletproof business processes that assist in the smooth running of day-to-day operations.

Steadily, as time goes by the company has grown, you have employed more staff, increased the number of departments and the number of software applications and business processes have multiplied.

Suddenly you are seeing:

• A lack of communication between departments and business partners.
• Time delays between processes.
• Repetitive bi-directional data entry.
• Increased running costs with no sign of improved ROI.

Sounds messy doesn’t it?

For many, today’s business environment requires systems and applications that integrate and ‘talk’ with each other to eradicate process bottlenecks, remove repetitive data entry and improve the visibility of critical data.

However, this can be a costly and time-consuming approach to take which is why businesses are looking towards integration and business process automation software such as SAP Certified, BPA Platform.

SAP Business One integration with BPA Platform can reduce development costs and time frames through its SAP Certified code-free integration tools enabling businesses of any size to seamlessly link finance and accounting, sales and marketing, customer services, HR, Inventory and purchasing functions together with their associated operational processes.

• Reduce integration time frames and development costs.
• Eradicate process bottlenecks.
• Improve visibility of critical data.
• Remove repetitive data entry.
• Reduce operational costs and increase ROI.

Tailoring an integration or automated process when using BPA Platform can be achieved by anyone with a basic understanding of your database structures by using an easy-to-use interface providing a code-free environment for practically any number of integrations and automated processes.

This ties up any loose ends within your organisation to ensure that the business runs more effectively with data seamlessly synchronised between systems and automatically distributed to whoever needs it at the most relevant time, set to the business rules you define.

KFA Connect are Codeless Platforms Partners – authorised to sell BPA Platform and have in-depth knowledge of developing integration and Process automation using the solution.

Integrate Shopify Plus with Xero Using BPA Platform

Organisations that sell their products or services online commonly use powerful eCommerce platforms such as Shopify Plus.

Unfortunately, for many businesses, this still requires employees to manually extract their data and re-key it into their business software. Information is also frequently manually extracted from business software, for example, Xero and then re-keyed into the eCommerce web store.

The Downsides of Manual Bi-Directional Data Processing are:

• Extremely time-consuming.
• Highly prone to errors.
• Costly.

Businesses are now turning to solutions which automate the flow of information between their webshop and business software.

So, What are the 4 Most Common eCommerce Integration Scenarios?

• Automatic insertion of eCommerce orders into an accounting solution.
• Automatic transfer of order status, current stock levels and/or images from accounting systems to web store.
• Automatic consignment of an order with a selected courier service(s).
• Automatic synchronisation of customer information between an eCommerce application and a CRM system.

Organisations that are automating these common scenarios are eradicating repetitive data entry and the associated human errors, significantly decreasing dispatch times and cutting operational costs.

Automating the synchronisation of information between business systems and an eCommerce application is an affordable and quick process by utilising drag-and-drop integration tools such as Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform (business process automation) solution.

What eCommerce Applications Can BPA Platform Integrate?

• Magento integration
• Shopify integration
• PrestaShop integration
• BigCommerce integration
• Amazon Seller Central integration / Amazon FBA Automation
• eBay integration
• PIM eCommerce integration
  

For more information on how BPA Platform can be used to automate the flow of information between your business systems and applications to streamline your business processes, contact us to arrange a demonstration.

KFA Connect are Codeless Platforms Partners – authorised to sell BPA Platform and have in-depth knowledge of developing integration and process automation using the solution.

Jim Maddison – Business Analyst

The Only Way is Up

I grew up in the 80s; the decade that truly brought computing into the home.

Our first home computer was a rubber-keyed Spectrum 48K which lived proudly in the living room.

We were encouraged to play text-based adventure games designed to teach us how to type but my favourite “typing” exercise was playing Daley Thompsons Decathlon where to make the small, pixely Daley run the player had to hammer the left and right keys as fast as humanly possible. 

My first computing light-bulb moment came when I was studying A-level art, and the art department took delivery of an Acorn Archimedes computer. It was (back then) a 32-bit graphical powerhouse of a machine. My eyes glazed over as I gazed upon the thousands of colours in the drawing app palette.

My course was clear. I was going to become a graphic designer and use computers to make wonderful images because computers are the future!

I left school clutching an Art and General Studies A-Level and signed up at Plymouth College of Art & Design. This was where my future begins!

Only, it didn’t. There were no computers in sight. No hint of 3D graphical design, just odd people in chunky knitwear and dungarees. And they were the teachers!

This wasn’t what I had in mind at all. I decided it wasn’t for me and dropped out… of art college. I was on the lowest rung of academia with no useful qualifications to my name. So I did what any self-respecting art school dropout did and got a job in a record shop; Plymouth’s new Virgin Megastore.

The store had a strange computer terminal at one end of the counter. It didn’t have a mouse, or graphics, just text. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had met the AS400. It ran a system aptly named ELVIS, which stood for “EPoS Linked Virgin Information System”. (I later learned that AS400s love Acronyms, they’re everywhere!).

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

After a while, I decided I needed a change from working in retail and started a part-time course at evening school learning basic Pascal programming. This knowledge was enough to get a job as a trainee developer at a company called JBA, who wrote a warehouse management application.

On the first day, we were shown the system on which we would be trained and I instantly recognised the plain green text on a black background. It was an Elvis! Or rather, it was an AS400!

How ironic that I had left school planning to create the next “Money for Nothing” video and here I was starting a career on a system that had no graphical prowess whatsoever.

No time to dwell though, as the world needed me. I had joined JBA to help prepare their systems for the dreaded Y2K bug. An impending doomsday that would plunge the world back into the dark ages!

After only months of training, this plucky band of trainees were unleashed into the code to add century flags to dates. Before we knew it Big Ben was heralding the arrival of a new century.

This was it.

The world waited.

I waited.

Nothing happened.

The lights stayed on. Planes didn’t fall from the sky. Phones still worked.

I had done it… I had saved the world! (Well, me and about 30 seasoned developers… but mainly me)

That went straight on my CV!

Past to Present

JBA ultimately was bought out by a company called Geac who closed the Plymouth Hero Office making most of the team redundant. After a brief stint in Teddington, I moved to a small company in the depths of Dorset who also coded on the AS400 – Kingfisher Associates (now known as KFA Connect).

I worked as a developer and on the support desk. The support desk role seemed to fit particularly well with me. It was nice to speak to people who were stuck and needed help, and I liked helping people.

I’d only been with the company for 2 years when I decided I needed a break from this whole “working” thing. I took a step away from the rat race and moved back to Plymouth where I met my wife. I worked in various IT helpdesk roles over the next few years including a company in Exeter that wrote software for Epos systems and a company in Plymouth that handled EDI transactions.

It was 2008 before the siren song of Kingfisher called to me again.
I came back to Kingfisher in 2008 working on the support desk, then as a developer, and now as a business analyst.

Oh, and who says the AS400 can’t do graphics?

Jim Maddison

Business Analyst – KFA Connect

26th May 2023

Want to know more? Get in touch with our team today.

Mental Health First Aid

During Mental Health Awareness Week, (15th – 21st May 2023) it is crucial to emphasise the importance of mental health first aid.

Just as physical first aid helps address physical injuries, mental health first aid provides essential support and assistance to individuals experiencing mental health challenges. This week serves as a reminder to educate ourselves and others on recognising the signs of mental distress, offering empathetic listening, and connecting individuals to appropriate resources.

By prioritising mental health first aid, we can create a more compassionate and supportive society for all.

What is first aid?

A First Aider provides initial assistance to someone in need of help, this initial help is given either in place of professional help or before professional help is accessed.  The principles for Physical and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) are similar in that both give support to someone in need of assistance before professional help is on-hand.

What is mental health?

Mental health is our state of mind, our emotional and psychological well-being. It determines how we cope with day-to-day issues.

Mental Health is complex and changeable, it needs to be acknowledged and looked after.

What is mental ill health?

Mental ill health by its very definition is when we are mentally unwell, we can feel unable to cope with stress and anxiety which can lead to depression and addictive behaviour. Mental ill health can lead to a feeling you cannot see a way forward.

In contrast, people with good mental health are capable of setting goals and being able to achieve them.

Why mental health first aid?

• 1 in 6 working-age adults have symptoms associated with poor mental health.
• 1 in 4 people experience poor mental health each year.
• Poor mental health accounts for 72,000,000 (72 million) working days lost in the UK per year.
• In 2020, 1,752 people died in road accidents but 6,749 died by suicide.

Mental health first aiders are required because:

1. Poor Mental Health is common
2. There is so much stigma associated with poor mental health
3. Professional help is not always available immediately

Self-Care

To be an effective Mental Health First Aider you need to be mentally well yourself.

You need to engage in activities that look after your own mental health and actively manage your own illness if/when it occurs.

You may need to seek professional help and support in addition to practising self-care.

What influences our mental health?

There are many factors that can cause poor mental health including:

• Alcohol and drugs
• Poor parenting
• Illness and disability
• Abuse
• Traumatic events
• Poverty
• Unemployment
• Poor housing
• Poor education
• Stigma
• Discrimination

There are protective factors that can contribute to positive mental health including:

• Positive Parenting
• Confidence
• Physical activity
• A balanced and healthy diet
• Loving and respectful relationships
• Values and beliefs
• Stable home
• Rest

The 5 main actions for Mental Health First Aid

ALGEE

Approach the person, assess the situation and assist with any crisis

Listen and communicate without judgement

Give Support and information

Encourage the person to seek the appropriate professional help

Encourage other support

Mental health first aid for a panic attack

Panic attacks develop quickly and normally reach their peak within 10 minutes. Common indicators of a panic attack are:

• Sweating, trembling and shaking
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Fear of dying
• Feeling dizzy
• Palpitations or increased awareness of heartbeat

Ask the person if they know what is happening and if this has happened before, do not assume you know what they need, ask them if they know what might help them.

If the person is not known to you then introduce yourself and try to get them to a safe comfortable place to sit down.

Panic attacks can resemble a heart attack so try and determine if the person has had a panic attack before and if not administer or seek help for physical first aid.

Always communicate effectively, and reassure the person that the thoughts they are experiencing will pass. Acknowledge that their thoughts do feel real but they are safe. It is important you remain calm yourself.

Use distraction methods to try and move the person’s focus, and encourage them to think about things they can see, hear, smell and touch. Try to help them to take slow deep breaths to slow down their breathing.

Once the panic attack has subsided try to encourage the person to seek professional help to manage the attacks.

Mental Health First Aid for traumatic events

Traumatic events are the exposure to actual or threatened death, violation or serious injury. A person may be a witness to an accident and not directly involved but it would still be a traumatic event.

• Individual traumas can include accidents or assault which can be physical, emotional and sexual.
• Ongoing traumas can include abuse, neglect, bullying and torture.
• Mass traumas can include natural disasters, acts of terror and pandemics.

Most people will recover from experiencing a traumatic event within 2 to 4 weeks but some people will develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Sometimes memories of traumatic events can re-occur suddenly often weeks, months or years after the actual event.

A person may experience trauma immediately after experiencing an event but there may be a delayed reaction. If you are assessing someone you know has experienced a traumatic event you will need to look for signs of distress over the weeks following the trauma.

Let the person know that everyone deals with distress from trauma at their own pace.

If you are helping someone unknown to you then be sure to introduce yourself, try to create a safe space and give them water.

Try and use the focus technique to calm someone in distress.

DO NOT encourage the person to share the traumatic event with you, let them talk to you and do not share your own experiences or interrupt.

Mental Health First Aid for Suicide

Suicide is where a person has suicidal thoughts or behaviours. Thoughts are where the person feels they can no longer continue to live. Suicidal behaviour is the planning, preparation and acting on suicidal thoughts. For many years there has been a stigma around suicide; to counter this we must be careful with our language.

The phrase ‘commit suicide’ is not appropriate, this dates back to the time when suicide was a crime, it was in fact de-criminalised in 1961. When someone has died the terms ‘died by suicide’ or ‘took their own life’ are the appropriate terms to use.  We should never refer to an attempted suicide as successful or unsuccessful, the outcome is ‘life’ or ‘death’.

1 in 15 people have suicidal thoughts and 1 man dies every minute from suicide worldwide.

You are more likely to meet someone having suicidal thoughts than you are to meet someone having a heart attack.

Signs and symptoms of suicidal thoughts and behaviour include:

• Expressing an intent to hurt or kill themselves
• Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide
• Engaging in reckless activities
• Withdrawing from friends, family or society
• Seeking ways to kill themselves such as access to pills, weapons or other means

When helping a person who you believe is suicidal or having suicide thoughts, do not be afraid to ask the question – Are you having suicide thoughts? It is not a question that should be avoided. Ask them if they have a plan and how detailed the plan is, have they attempted suicide before? Have they told anyone else how they are feeling?

If the person requires immediate help then call 999, if they are not imminently in danger then seek help through organisations such as the Samaritans or text SHOUT to 85258.

Work with the person to create a plan to keep them safe.

As a Mental Health First Aider, you are not a qualified councillor or a professional trained to deal with long-term mental health illness, but you will be able to recognise when someone is experiencing poor mental health, provide initial support and point them in the right direction for more professional assistance.

Being a good listener, having empathy and understanding stigma and positive language around poor mental health are the qualities required to be a good Mental Health First Aider.   

Richard Austin

KFA Connect – Director

18/05/2023

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