Stories

Harrison

I was an academy player for Hartlepool United, which led to a scholarship to play soccer in America, where I attended Francis Marion University in South Carolina.

Adrian

My family has been connected to Lawrenny village for centuries.

Simon

I wanted to be a policeman when I was a boy.

Clementina

‘As a parent and ex-Ofsted Inspector, the disconnect between educators and employers was obvious. With 6C’s, I’m bridging that gap’

Krystian

Starting a business was the way in which I could have the biggest impact on people’s lives.

George

1284 was founded with a laptop and a phone. Four years later, we were employing five people, moving into bigger office space, and shortlisted for UK Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year.

Idy

My core role is about people.

Sarah

I take care of the people who work for The Hendy Group, is a business that is 165 years old.

Maddy

I was at college before I worked at Access. I liked the sound of everything they did so much, I wanted to drop out of college immediately to work for them.

Samuel

Nestwork is a Loughborough based company built around helping students secure jobs through peer-to-peer learning and AI tools.

Karen

BHP is one of the leading independent accountancy firms in the North.

Mandy

It has to be fun and it has to pay its way. Apart from that, there are no rules.

Jonathan

I was fortune enough to meet and then work with a serial entrepreneur when I was in my late twenties.

Will

Pembroke Refinery opened in 1964, one of a number of refineries to be built on the Milford Haven Waterway during the 1960s and 1970s.

Andy

I started in business in 1985. Having worked and qualified in the insurance sector in Loughborough at the time that was my focus at first, but we evolved into personal financial planning.

Kate

My company is ExpHand. We make three prosthetic products that can grow with someone’s body. Using 3D printers, we can manufacture on the go, on demand. Anywhere in the world, so long as you’ve got a plug socket.

Gary

Back in 2011, the riots were still fresh in the mind, and my peers and I that had come from challenging upbringings ourselves wanted to do something to disrupt the cycle.

Ben

Good With Devices (GWD) has been running for about 20 years now. Me and my business partner took it over in 2015, in a management buyout.

Our CEO on finding the right job

“You have to ask, am I enjoying my job? If you aren’t, try something new.”

Tom

After having grown up in west London, I went to university in Sheffield, studying bioengineering. I went down to Cambridge for my “year in industry”, working for a start-up company there.

Georgia and Ben

You should love what you do, and if you don’t, you should look for something that really inspires you...

Nick

We care deeply about inspiring loyalty and retaining the people who work for us. We want to motivate them and boost their happiness...

Akshay

Work takes up a lot of time, time is personal, and so your work has to be personal to you.

Mark

We need to make room to take a chance on people. I like working with people who want to serve; who are not self-serving. I admire people who train people and watch them fly, without any sense of envy or resentment.

Erin

Working and learning means I can afford to go on holiday with my family and also with my friends, buy my own car and treat my loved ones with gifts.

Our first week

Today marks the end of the Jobs Foundation’s first week. It began with op-eds by our President Matthew Elliott...

Suzi

I’m very driven and I love to work. I want to go on to be a top designer and industry professional, and hopefully one day have the opportunity to mentor people who were once in my position.

David

Over the years, we have employed all sorts of people and helped them learn skills, both in terms of IT and technical skills and also crucial habits like timekeeping and working well with other people.

Khalid

I always knew I wanted to set up my own company. My friend and I had been talking about it for years. We had been working in fintech and banking in various places, getting lots of experience, and then Christmas 2019 we thought let’s do it.

Gary

After rehab, I wanted to build a different life. I was offered an apprenticeship in an IT company, even though I had never even sent an email before. My boss showed that he trusted me and gradually I began to learn.

Angus

I’ve always wanted to know why. Why things happen. How things work. When I was a child, I had a toy with a little prism on it and when I held it up to the light it would glow.

Joanne

I think I get my work ethic from my dad. He died when I was eleven years old. He was an engineer and had his own business. He showed me how important family is, and he really enjoyed what he did. He was a worker and I can’t imagine not working.