Tom - in my career I’ve only had one boss who didn’t go to uni...

Tom - in my career I’ve only had one boss who didn’t go to uni (Mike). Mike originally had a trade (maybe a boiler maker too?), but had nous and understood operations people. He forced the management team to focus more sharply on fewer things. Knock those things off, and then know what to add next. He led teams to achieve what previous more educated brains couldn’t do. He was of course no dummy, and listened and questioned engineers, metallurgists, chemists etc until he understood issues. That gave those people the ability to explain things and influence the operators controlling the plant (as Mike had deliberately got them to practice on him).

so, as I’ve learnt more from Mike than any previous boss or my Uni undergraduate or post-grad lecturers. I wouldn’t care what the quals the PLS ops manager has, as long as he/she has nous and brings out the best in the team (professional + trade) via focus and communication.