Speakers
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Laura-Jane Rawlings
Founder, Youth Employment UK
Laura-Jane worked in the recruitment sector for a number of years achieving a high level qualification as a recruiter and also studied Careers Counselling. Laura-Jane has coached a number of people to exceed their own career aspirations ranging from students to senior management personnel with great success.
It was during her time in recruitment that she became aware of the gap between the education and employment sectors and found herself supporting a number of students to gain entry to employment. Laura-Jane became passionate about using her commercial and careers expertise in schools first in voluntary roles and then later she founded InspireEducation to focus on bridging the gap.
Whilst establishing and then delivering the InspireEducation programmes Laura-Jane grew increasingly concerned about youth unemployment and the landscape for young people. Youth Employment UK CIC was born out of her passion to help more young people access opportunities and information that they needed to be successful, and from an understanding of the complex needs of business and their need for a responsive, community driven solution to their own skills gap and recruitment needs.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller. This is how Laura-Jane feels about youth unemployment. Her belief is that only a joined up approach working with everyone invested in youth unemployment (young people especially) will have the chance of really tackling youth unemployment.
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Stewart Segal
Chief Executive, Association of Employment and Learning Providers
Stewart Segal was appointed to the role of AELP Chief Executive in July 2013. He has worked in the funded work based learning sector for over 20 years and in particular has supported AELP since its formation.
Previously, Stewart worked as an independent consultant within the training sector, working with a number of training providers and colleges specialising in business development and funding issues. Following a background in HR and general management in the private sector Stewart, joined Hertfordshire TEC in 1994 as Chief Executive. He also worked at the TEC for 4 years prior to joining Spring Skills as Chief Executive in 1998. Spring Skills was then the largest independent training provider in the sector involved in the delivery of a range of programmes in the service sectors such as retail, customer services, hospitality and business administration.
Stewart is also a Director of the Talent Foundation a not for profit network of organisation committed to the development of talent at work. |
Dave Simmonds OBE
Chief Executive, Inclusion
Profile to be published shortly.
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Johnny Luk
Chief Executive, National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE)
Johnny is the CEO of the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE), working with entrepreneurial students across 200 UK campuses. Before this, he was a Senior Policy Advisor and then the Deputy Head of Strategy for Entrepreneurship in the UK Government. He is also the co-Founder of Inspired & Hired, an award winning social enterprise and co-Founder of The Dream Foundation, a knowledge-sharing platform between UK and China. Johnny wrote the published book ‘The Grad Job Game’, is a graduate from Durham University and was a former National Schools Rowing Gold Medallist. |
Dr Fiona Aldridge
Assistant Director for Development & Research, NIACE
As NIACE Assistant Director for Development and Research, Fiona Aldridge leads on a range of functions including policy and practice across the Strategic Plan, the promotion of learning to new audiences, the engagement of networks and the dissemination of key findings to policy makers and practitioners.
Fiona’s responsibilities include managing and leading of development and research staff focused on NIACE’s strategic priority area - Learning in and for Work. She leads and co-ordinates all research activity across the organisation, including managing NIACE’s annual surveys into adult participation in learning. Fiona is NIACE’s relationship manager for the Skills Funding Agency, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the British Army.
Fiona joined NIACE in 1997 and progressed through a range of research roles to become Head of Research in 2003, leading on work that spanned the breadth of NIACE’s agenda. In the last two years, she has successfully established NIACE’s Learning for Work programme which is designed to improve the range and quality of learning that equips adults to gain, sustain and progress in employment.
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Raphael Dapaah
Campaigner and Officer for Youth Labour London
Raphael Dapaah is a political and social commentator and writer, as well as a Labour Party activist.
He is passionate about youth participation, representation and awareness in politics and has campaigned to increase the number of young people involved in the democratic process.
He is interested in European affairs and international relations, and is a keen advocate for greater solidarity and unity between the UK and the EU.
His interests include: History, Literature, Politics and the Arts.
He graduated from the University of Warwick in 2014 after receiving a BA (Hons) in History and Politics.
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Andrew Taggart
Founder and Director, The Found Generation
Andrew is a young person in his twenties who has personal experience of youth unemployment. He is now employed as a Trainee Solicitor, but in his spare time he is involved in a number of voluntary projects to boost employment and education opportunities for young people.
Andrew is the founder and Director of The Found Generation, a cross-party, not-for-profit campaign group, formed of young volunteers. The group aims to persuade politicians to take practical steps to tackle youth unemployment and prevent a “lost generation”. Andrew has obtained the support of numerous politicians for his campaign and has actively contributed to debates on the subject. He authored a report in July 2014 on “Practical Solutions to UK Youth Unemployment” (which was subsequently cited in Parliament) and co-authored The Found Generation’s recent Manifesto for Youth Employment.
He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of the Youth Employment UK campaign.
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Jeremy Crook OBE
Director, Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG)
Jeremy has led the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) since 1992. BTEG is a national charity that works to improve education, skills, employment and entrepreneurship outcomes for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. BTEG currently runs three main projects including Routes2Success, a new national role model which connects successful black men with groups of young black males (11-25 yrs.); Opening Doors, a new London youth entrepreneurship programme for 18-30 unemployed individuals; and a national network for local voluntary groups working individuals and families involved in the criminal justice system funded by the Ministry of Justice.
He has over 30 years experience of promoting equality and inclusion and developing practical solutions in the public, private and voluntary and community sector. He Chair’s the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Equalities Advisory Group and provides advice to Department for Work and Pensions Ethnic Minority Employment Stakeholder Advisory Group. He is also a non-executive director of Greater London Enterprise, a trustee of West Ham United Community Trust and a member of the Assessment Committee for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
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Benjamin Judge
President of KCL Conservative Society
Ben Judge is a final year
undergraduate at King’s College London reading Political Economy. With a keen
interest in academic and mainstream politics and economics, Ben has been
President of the KCL Conservative Society since March 2013. Ben has written a
number of articles on a range of political topics for student led publications and made several media appearances on Sky News, debating, from a
young person’s perspective, policy areas including higher education,
unemployment and housing. Last summer, Ben interned at a Westminster based think tank. In
addition, over the last two years he has taught debating through a charity at a
secondary school in East London. He hopes to pursue a career in commercial law
after graduating.
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Azzees Minott
Green Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Warwick and Leamington
Green party parliamentary
candidate for Warwick and Leamington, currently working at the Coventry
Citizens Advice Bureau.
She received a BA Joint
Honours in International Relations and Politics, with study abroad experience,
from Coventry University. During her time at university, Azzees was a member of
and helped coordinate events for Student Union for Black History Month, Youth
for Fair Trade, Parliament Week and the European Youth Event in
Strasbourg.
Azzees has participated in
various youth-led organisations such as Youth Against Crime and was selected to
publicly speak at the University of Oxford and Lloyds of London. Growing up and
going to school in East London made Azzees particularly passionate about social
justice, youth services and civic engagement, employment, education and
housing.
She has campaigned and
debated about NHS, youth engagement within politics, immigration and the
EU.
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Kevin Munday
Founding Director, ThinkForward
I'm passionate about preventing youth unemployment. I am the Founding Director of ThinkForward, a programme providing young people with long term and intensive support to ensure that they make a successful transition from school to work. ThinkForward is currently being incubated in Impetus - The Private Equity Foundation and, as well as leading and developing the programme, I do some other work with them as an Investment Director. In 2014 I was also appointed as a Clore Social Fellow.
Before creating ThinkForward, I worked in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where I was Deputy Head of Youth Services and then Head of 14-19 Development. Previous roles have included as Deputy Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services and with the national charities Community Matters and St. John Ambulance. I am a qualified youth worker and teacher and have an MBA from Ashridge Business School. I recently started a Doctorate in Education at Homerton College, Cambridge.
In my spare time I am a director of the Young Lambeth Cooperative, the volunteer regional youth manager for St. John Ambulance in London and a school governor at St. Mary's Primary School in Islington. Previous positions have included as Chair of the British Youth Council, Vice Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council and as a director of the National Youth Agency. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Institute for Learning and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. I was named by The Guardian in 2008 as one of the 'Future 500' leaders in public life and by Striding Out in 2011 as one of the UK’s top 100 Social Entrepreneurs.
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Russell Knight
Senior Head of Outreach, Assesment and Outcomes, The Princes Trust
I'm committed and dedicated to supporting young people on their journey into more positive futures through the Prince’s Trust. In my role as Senior Head of Outreach, Assessment and Outcomes for the South region at the Trust I oversee the recruitment of around 9,000 of the hardest to reach young people onto Prince’s Trust programmes annually. My team then work at the end of a young person’s journey by support their next steps progressions into education, training, employment and volunteering. We’re proud to have supported 77% of young people into a positive outcome of some kind during 2014/15 but are keen to push this bar higher, aspiring to hit 80% in this financial year. The passionate and inspiring teams of people we have working at the Prince’s Trust are critically linked to our success with young people and crucially their success when they leave us.
Before my current role at the Trust I have had quite a varied background. I trained as a Transportation specialist at Leeds University and then through a series of jobs found myself working on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games firstly around the transport aspect of the Games but ultimately and more substantively in a role responsible for spreading the social benefits of the Games, namely the Torch Relays, school education programme, Inspire project, Games Makers and Executive engagements, across the rest of the UK. Following the Games I worked to set up and establish the Volunteering legacy charity, Join In and then was successful in gaining this role with the Prince’s Trust. Throughout all of my roles, providing people with opportunities has been at the heart of what I do and I’m proud and passionate to represent the Trust and the work we do to change young lives.
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Ed Colverson
Head of Work Ready at Catch 22
Ed is Head of Work Ready for Catch 22. His division ensures that young people have the skills and behaviours they need to be employable and are placed into meaningful work opportunities to start shaping their career from. He has worked in the employment sector for eight years in a range of different roles. Over this time he has worked on a multitude of different employability contracts with a range of different target groups including learning disabilities, ex offenders, care leavers and NEET’s. He is also a qualified teacher. Ed is passionate about how to support people to develop the skills to be employable. These go in line with technical skills that are industry specific, along with opening up a multitude of networks to enable people to have access to a range of opportunities.
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Tina Khan
Tina was born in Tower Hamlets and whilst growing up in the borough, found there were a lack of role models to which she could relate. That changed when Tina joined ThinkForward as a participant at the age of 14. She has been an ambassador for the programme for the last 4 years and is passionate about supporting young people who, like herself once upon a time need a positive influence in their lives to help them believe in themselves to achieve their best. She is currently pursuing an LLB Law degree at City University having previously completed an Extended Diploma in Business. Tina's aspiration now is to become a corporate lawyer.
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Adeboun Akindele
Adeboun is a final year undergraduate at the University of Kent reading Business Studies. As an international student looking for a part-time job in the customer service sector, she found it difficult to secure a position but after joining Tomorrow’s People, she was provided with opportunities to acquiring practical experience, CV help and links with entrepreneurs which enhanced her business knowledge and built up her confidence. The support from Tomorrow’s People has enabled Adeboun to become a more balanced and well rounded individual.
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Rob Senior
5 facts about me…
1. I have worked in a part time job as a support worker, helping young adults with special needs with life and media skills.
2. I have a Foundation Degree in New Media, where I learned how to do lots of creative things with media, such as 3D Modelling, Graphic Design, Concept Art and Filming.
3. I have a YouTube channel called RSRobStar, where I post video blogs, lifestyle videos and gaming videos.
4. Whilst I was studying I was lucky enough to attend trips Rome and Paris with other fellow students, and visited famous and inspiring landmarks and museums during these trips.
5. Family and Friends are really important to me, they are all really supportive and I really cherish the times I spend with them. |
Kashif Nijabat
Kashif currently stands as a Job Ambassador for the Prince's Trust and is a keen film maker. His journey began seven years ago when life took him down a criminal path. Kashif grew up on an estate where gangs and violence was a way of life. Taking initiative and getting involved with the Princes Trust, he enrolled onto a digital media course in film making. With a passion for the film industry and receiving a small grant from the Trust, he produced a short film on tackling gun and knife crime. Since then, he has worked on three feature films, music videos and several short films. He recently directed and produced a piece for Thomas Cook on location in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt. Working as a Job Ambassador for the Princes Trust, has enabled Kashif to combine his love for film making with raising awareness on challenges faced by young people today. Kashif‘s motto is “Breaking Barriers for Young People”.
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Adeboun Akindele
Profile to be published shortly.
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Jack Welch
Profile to be published shortly.
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James Magowan
James leads our work in the East of England. He manages key relationships and builds partnerships with local stakeholders and ensures that we deliver exemplary and cost effective services to our service users.
James was previously Director of Strategy, when he specialised in research and innovation and strategic business development. This included the conception and development of some of our key programme delivery models. James joined Tomorrow's People in January 2010 on secondment from specialist executive search firm Taylor Bennett.
James holds a BA in French from the University of Liverpool and a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies
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