Meet Your Trainer – Oenca Fontaine

Have you ever wondered who Oenca Fontaine is?

You might be interested to know a little bit about:

• My background and experience to date;
• Why I set up the Online Leadership Academy (OLA) and the Gifted for Action™ Experience & Blueprint programmes;
• My vision for the future; and
• Some plans for the future?

Well read on for some insight into these questions and more.

A bit about my background and experience to date

I became a born-again Christian in 1994 and my call experience came about after a direct challenge to the Lord to make Himself known to me or to call me to follow Him personally – similar to how God called Samuel in the Bible.  The result can only be described as a 3-week prophetic experience in which God did exactly that!

I have detailed how my call experience came about in the first 2 chapters of my autobiography, ‘My God in a Time Like Now’.

In terms of work, I have worked for over 20 years as a Leadership and Talent Development Consultant, a Coach-Mentor, and a Training Facilitator.  Added to that, I have been on a personal journey of faith since 2010, and through my belief and faith in God, I have:

• Developed a bespoke online 360° Feedback tool – the Gifted for Action™ Blueprint for enhancing Godly and ethical Leadership behaviours for leaders and managers of established organisations, or enhancing the leadership potential of Kingdom-focused entrepreneurs

• Set up Christian Leadership Ministries (2013) to develop leadership potential in the Christian community and equip individuals, churches and organisations to fulfil mission whilst positively impacting lives in their local communities

• Created a series of 10, 2-Day experiential weekend training retreats, that took individuals on a journey from discovering their God-given purpose to being active and healthy in ministry.  For nearly 4 years, I successfully delivered the training retreats to over 250 participants, from 55 different denominational groups, working and learning together, in a more traditional training room-based format,  The weekends provided and formed the foundation for the now, Gifted for Action™ Experience programme; and I have

• Published 2 books, with 2 more in concept mode!

I am a wife, married to my husband Danny, and a mother of 2 wonderful children, both of whom have inspired the work I do on behalf of Birmingham City Council, supporting Parent Carers of children and young people living with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).  Through the Be Empowered Workshop (BEW) project we have helped many parent carers and their families; trained a number of SEND professionals; and influenced improvements in SEND provision and services within Birmingham, across Education, Health and Social Care, over the last 8 years.

Why did I set up the Online Leadership Academy CIC and developed the Gifted for Action™ Experience programme?

First and foremost, I fundamentally believe that every person has the opportunity to leave a positive mark on humanity, through their time on earth, and as a child of God, Scripture tells us that God actually has a specific and pre-ordained purpose for us, just waiting for us to discover it.  How amazing is that!

I have always had a desire to support people to be the best version of themselves, particularly in the workplace.  At the end of the day, most people spend the largest proportion of their week in the world of work, in some form or another.  So, when it comes to purpose, I think it’s safe to say that for many most believers, their purpose can probably be found in or connected to what they do for a living or what they have a passion for, not only connected to the local church and where they choose to fellowship.

I want to help as many people as possible to actively discover their God-given purpose, uncover their Spiritual Gifts, in order to become Christ’s hands, feet and heart in their communities, making a positive and lasting difference that transforms lives and our world in some way.   The Online Leadership Academy’s flagship programme, the Gifted for Action™ Experience is definitely the way to do that.  Our delivery integrates online learning with human interaction and connection, producing a dynamic learning environment for Christian, faith-based development.

The benefits of online learning

According to CEO World Magazine, the online education sector has been dramatically increasing in popularity particularly over the past 5 years as distance, blended and self-study online learning has become mainstream and familiar.  The online education industry was predicted to triple between 2020 and 2025, but with the impacts of COVID causing a tidal wave of e-learning demand, the sector is reporting this level of growth already since January 2020 alone.

Aside from the lockdowns, the e-learning industry continues to grow in popularity for a number of reasons, the same reasons which anyone participating in the Gifted for Action™ programmes can benefit from, namely:

• Accessibility: Lack of geographical boundaries makes online learning possible for anyone, anywhere

• Flexibility of delivery and learning experience: Whether it’s purely for personal study, coach-facilitated, one to one, group learning, or somewhere in between, there is a mode of online delivery that will suit every learning preference

• Cost: Without the costs associated with training venues, printed resources, travel and trainer man hours, the costs to students can be significantly reduced, allowing more people to access training opportunities not available to them previously

• Community: People have become used to networking and building relationships online, and online learning communities and social learning has become extremely popular.  Inbuilt ‘communities’ in learning management systems like New Zenler, ‘Zoom Rooms’ and Facebook Groups are facilitating, and sometimes even replacing face to face social learning

• Time and deadlines: Online learning is a much more flexible way for people to learn.  Without strict deadlines or set times to turn up to training, it is a much more attractive method of learning for many people, especially those with other life commitments, jobs, business, families or are in different time zones to where the training is being hosted from.

• Up to date: Online courses are easy to update, change and add further content to; enabling them to be far more up to date and relevant than traditional courses.

My vision

I want to support spiritual growth and build leadership capacity in kingdom-focused individuals and organisations committed to making a positive difference in the workplace, in communities and in the world, both nationally and internationally.  Through social action and impact I want to empower people to follow the desire God has placed in their hearts, connecting and collaborating with other like-minded individuals, to transform the lives of the disadvantaged and marginalised people, not just in their communities, but all around the world.

Whatever it is that anyone does for a living, I want to help them, to live a life that is meaningful, purposeful and one that they love; a life where people see their work, not as just a job, but a God-given vocation!

Some exciting news…

We have been re-designing the Gifted for Action™ Experience programme to make it easier for you to find your route into discovering (or re-discovering) your purpose.  We are so excited to be able to offer a dynamic learning experience, designed to give you more that just an opportunity to learn about your purposes, our new approach enables you to:

• Integrate and live out Biblical principles as you take positive steps to DISCERN and define your specific Kingdom purpose

• Support you as you explore and SURMISE what your Spiritual Gift Mix comprises of, and then CONCLUDE what you are supposed to do with the gifts that God has given you; and

• Develop a ‘can do’ outlook as you take positive steps to overcome the negative situations in your life that may be getting in the way of you walking out the destiny, the mandate on your life pre-ordained by God!

But hey, don’t just take my word for it…  try a taster of it for free!

Register and join me for the FREE 3-day Divine Mission Mandate Challenge starting Wednesday, 26^th October, 2022. 

This FREE 3-day event will:

• Give us an opportunity to meet each other in a safe learning environment

• Give you an opportunity to experience the first 3 pillars of the Gifted for Action™ Experience programme; and

• Set you on your journey to discovering or re-discovering your God-given purpose in a fun and engaging way, alongside other like-minded individuals

When you register, not only will you secure your seat for the event, you will have access to the event recordings, so if for some reason, you are unable to attend the live event, you will not miss out on the experience or any other special offers that may take place during the event.

Why not sign up to our newsletter to hear more details about the FREE 3-day challenge, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Our newsletter is designed to inspire, support and encourage you on your journey to success; keep you up to date with the latest news and offers relating to Gifted for Action™; and provide opportunities for you to share, connect and learn alongside other people. 

To receive your copy of our monthly newsletter, please email me on info@onlineleadershipacademy.org.uk or use our contact form to let us have your contact details, and we will add you to our mailing list.  Don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time, if you wish.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we’d be happy to help you.

In the meantime,

Stay blessed,

Oenca Fontaine

Online Leadership Academy

Creator of Gifted for Action™

Author, Coach, Mentor, Trainer and Consultant