Meet our new Board members
Debra Burnett • June 22, 2021
We are head over heels to announce the appointment of three new Non-Executive Directors (NED’s) at Ways into Work.
A huge welcome to Maurice George, Hassan Khan and James Welchman. They join our existing NED’s Claire Gardner and Hugh Chamberlain, and along with Becky Beechen, our MD, they now make up our new board. We are so grateful to Hugh and Claire for their help and guidance over the last few years. We are particularly indebted to Hugh for really sticking with us and providing ongoing support over some particularly challenging times in earlier years. Moving forwards we are all really excited about our newest board members who coming from varied backgrounds bring with them a wealth of diverse skills and knowledge from business roles, to education and lived experience. This also means a step up for Hugh who will now chair the board, a role we are very appreciative to him for fulfilling unofficially over the last few years.
When recruiting our NED’s we were so pleased and surprised with the amount of really high quality individuals wanting to share their experience and help further the mission of Ways into Work. We've always had a plan to create an Advisory Board representing our stakeholders and forming an important part of our governance in terms of operational and strategic decision making. While the iron was hot, we struck! So we are also welcoming Scott Watkin (Client rep); Graham Heffer (Employer rep); Jane Kidd (Parent rep) and Simon Carter (Employee Ownership rep) to our newly founded Advisory Board. In addition to their NED roles Maurice will represent education and Hassan will chair the advisory board. We also hope to gain a commissioner/funder rep in the future.
For us this also marks a new chapter in Ways into Work’s history. Now 6 years old in our current formation as a Community Interest Company, we’ve been through a lot of the early challenges that businesses face, finding our feet and growing whilst still trying to set our foundations. With a lot of that under our belt we are starting to become much more planful and forward facing. We are thrilled to have such a strong support team behind us and together we are working on developing our long term vision for the future of Ways into Work, so we can 'Change
even more Lives, One Job at a Time'. Watch this space …
Photo by William Sinclair
on Unsplash
More Posts
Watch Ashonte shine at the Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food store situated in Royal Berks Hospital! 🌟 Our supported intern is confidently taking on new tasks every day, from restocking to serving customers on the tills. Ashonte's hard work and positive attitude are inspiring! ✨ A huge thank you to M&S, Royal Berks, who have supported many young people year after year. This year they are providing Ashonte with this amazing opportunity and once again helping us to break down the barriers for young people with a disability in gaining employment. A huge thank you to Marks and Spencer's for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need. Want to see Ashonte in action? Click here to watch the inspiring video!
We’re thrilled to announce a fantastic milestone for our incredible intern, Tayyab, who has just secured a placement as an Assistant at Absolutely Karting in Maidenhead! 🎉 Thanks to the unwavering support of @absolutelytogether and their belief in our Route to Recruit Supported Internship programme, Tayyab is now starting an exciting chapter as part of a dynamic team. 🏎️ In his new role, Tayyab will be interacting with customers, managing bookings, and assisting on the tracks as groups arrive. This opportunity marks the beginning of his journey from aspiration to action, and we couldn’t be prouder of his progress. A huge thank you to Absolutely Together for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.
🎉Huge shout out to the fabulous Coppid Beech Hotel (part of the Nike Group) for supporting our Route to Recruit Supported Internship programme! Thanks to their support, our intern, Matthew, has secured a placement at the hotel. 🏨 He’s now part of a small, supportive team of facilities/maintenance professionals. We are incredibly grateful for Coppid Beech Hotel’s commitment to supporting young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.
