It’s Time to Give Back

Looking for a job in the UK at present is more difficult than I can ever remember, and while the media are much focused on youth unemployment the reality for senior managers, especially those who have been made redundant, is just as challenging.

Careers Springboard, a charity run entirely by highly qualified volunteers, is a self-help group of professionals, managers and graduates seeking work. The weekly zoom webinars attract some 100 attendees, and we provide free individual virtual sessions covering CV Preparation, Mock Interviews, Career Coaching, LinkedIn and Counselling.

I am a Trustee and responsible with my team for providing advice to help members create CVs that will present them as must-see candidates.

Since a CV is an Advertisement with the sole intent of getting the candidate an interview, my many years of experience as a Marketing Director across a very wide range of industries have given me the skills, knowledge and experience to develop tools and advice for this specific task.

If this free service is of interest to you, or indeed any of the others mentioned above, then just go to our website: careersspringboard.org.uk

I am a volunteer at a fantastic charity, Schoolreaders, which organises some 4,000 people to go into primary schools across England on a weekly basis to read one-to-one with some 40,000 children who need extra support in this area. This service is provided absolutely free of charge to schools, which is a great benefit in these days of huge pressures on their budgets.

The importance of literacy to a child’s life chances cannot be overemphasised. The following statistics will probably horrify you as they did me:

• 1 in 4 children will leave primary education without the age-appropriate level of reading.
• Of those 25%, only 1 in 10 will get a GCSE in English and Maths.
• 57% of the prison population has a reading age of less than 11.

In essence, not being able to read properly when entering secondary education is hugely damaging to life chances.

While I know what I do is important, it is difficult to express how much pleasure and satisfaction I get from the role. I am neither their teacher nor their parent — I am there to instil the joy of reading and make it as much fun as possible for my cohort of weaker readers.

If you are interested in becoming a Schoolreader just go to www.schoolreaders.org

From 2013 I have been involved with the Bucks Skills Hub, initially with the Young Enterprise programme, then as an Enterprise Advisor introducing secondary students to a variety of career options through exposure to a range of employers. Most recently I am focused on helping students to develop CVs that will help them in the increasingly difficult task of moving from education towards a career for which they are both suited and will enjoy.

If you want to learn more about the hub then go to https://bucksskillshub.org

Career History

My career, spanning over 50 years, encompassed marketing, sales and general management across a very wide range of industries including FMCG, Business-to-Business, Service Industries, Utilities and Not-for-Profit. These included Procter and Gamble, Bacofoil, Smiths Crisps, Diners Club, TNT Express Worldwide, British Gas, Age UK and The Children’s Society, as well as a number of smaller companies.

I retired as Managing Director of Focus on Growth Ltd, the company I founded in 2007 and ran until 2023, providing Strategic, Marketing, Research and General Business advice. In parallel, I have at various times been an Investor and Marketing Director of THOR laser, Investor and Non-Executive Director of APA Parafricta Ltd (Medical Devices), a member of Azure Partners, Management Consultants specialising in Exit Planning and a Trustee for the brain injury charity Headway Aylesbury Vale.

I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, married with two adult sons and two grandchildren. I am a keen tennis player, amateur photographer and enjoy the theatre, architecture, art galleries and travel.

If you wish to know more about my working career, click on the following to my LinkedIn profile.