Simon

My father was a cop and very early on I decided to follow in my old man's footsteps. I remember being at primary school knowing that if I couldn't be a footballer, I'd be in the police force. Unfortunately, the qualifications I left comprehensive school with were not enough to join the police. Undeterred, I went on to sixth form college to re-sit some exams. Even then, I needed further job experience. After working in retail and at a bank, I finally got a role within the Durham police. I stayed there for six years in uniform. When I watch police programmes now, they put a smile on my face. I like to reminisce about those days.

But I knew being a uniformed cop wasn't what he wanted to do forever. I've always got a fire burning in my belly. No matter what, I'm impatient. I'm always looking for the next thing. So, I joined the headquarters' surveillance team. This was the start of my career as an undercover policeman.

My goal was to move onto the National Crime Squad (as it was known then; it's now the National Crime Agency) in Liverpool. Only 2% of applicants from local forces get hired - but I made it. I then spent many years as an undercover policeman, working all over the world, infiltrating crime gangs.

Eight years ago, I wanted out of that lifestyle. That's when I started Orangebox, a training company with an office on Hartlepool Marina. I've been working since I was 16 and I'm 50 now, so I've learned a lot about bad work environments and good work environments. About the importance of teamwork and leadership. Loyalty and hard work. As I've got older, I just want to make a difference.

Orangebox Training Solutions runs a wide range of employment training courses for local people, in the process being another key institution providing a route into employment and out of poverty. I want staff to go to bed on Sunday night quite looking forward to coming to work on a Monday morning. Where they are going to have this feelgood factor, feel part of a team, feel valued - but also feel great that we're helping out learners' lives. We work with unemployed people who are looking for a chance. Unemployed people are genuinely looking for work - so we work hard to get good employers offering good jobs to give them a chance.

Orangebook trains around 4,000 people a year - around 75% of those who come onto a course with us go on to find gainful employment. We are making a massive difference to people's lives. What about that 25% that don't get a job right away through us? We don't give up on them either. We keep working with them. We'll find other opportunities, or we'll retrain them in something else. For those who want the help, we will help them.