Following an established career in recruitment at all levels, I found myself faced with an almost impossible task of recruiting local residents of East London into corporate jobs in Canary Wharf.  It was 2005.  A year long partnership with a niche East London charity brought little success.  The core issue was the lack of employability skills then taught in schools and colleges.  Coupled with generational unemployment resulting in no positive role models, the basic requirements of coming to work everyday, not taking a sick day over a headache etc was missing.

 

I devised and delivered an employability programme which over the following eight years saw over 200 people go into work – including a grandmother who had never worked!  It won multiple awards including the first EEVA awards – beating 22 European countries and the Lord Mayor of London’s Dragon Award in 2013.   I’ve worked with many charities, public sector organisations, ex-service charities and community groups.  Seeing someone flourish and go into work changing their lives, giving them real choice is amazing.

 

After 12 years with my last employer, I set-up my own consultancy and now work with private sector organisations on devising and delivering programmes which bring them closer to their communities adding real value to both.

 

My second passion after getting people into employment is Mental Health First Aid.  This is a global first aid programme for recognising and supporting mental health issues – now in 22 countries!  I’m proud to not only be a Mental Health First Aid Instructor who has trained close to 300 people over the last five years, but also a Non-Exec Director of MHFA England – supporting and driving forward the agenda – especially in the workplace.

 

I have designed and delivered bespoke mental health workshops to the private sector to meet their needs.

We have no health without good mental health!

 

Twitter – @EmploymentRegen