Paula Grayson wins award for work to support young people into careers

Paula Grayson from Bedfordshire, has been recognised for her work supporting careers education and helping young people into the world of work. She has been named Enterprise Adviser of the Year in the East & South East Region by the Careers & Enterprise Company.

The Careers & Enterprise Company Annual Awards 2018 recognise and celebrate inspirational work being done by schools and colleges, employers, volunteers and careers professionals around England.

A record number of over 200 nominations were submitted for this year's nine award categories, which were decided by a panel of independent expert judges.

Paula Grayson, Director of Bell Consultancy, signed up through the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) to be the Enterprise Adviser for Biddenham International School and Sports College.  She has worked with the Assistant Head responsible for Curriculum and Careers to refine their strategy to:  develop employer contacts; ensure links are created between employers and Heads of Department; improve the Careers website; explain the improvements to the Curriculum Governors and ensure every student has regular contact with people who can be role models and clarify career aspirations.

Peter Rayner, Enterprise Coordinator for SEMLEP commented:

“Paula has shown a real passion for helping young people fulfil their potential. Always willing to contribute to the wider Enterprise Adviser Network, Paula has not only created links with local employers, but has taken time to deliver activities in schools herself. She continues to be a great advocate for the programme”.

The Careers & Enterprise Company was established by government in 2015 to help schools and colleges, employers, funders and careers programme providers to create high impact careers and enterprise support for young people. They aim to inspire and prepare young people for the fast-changing world of work. The Company’s 2000+ Enterprise Adviser Network of business volunteers currently works in over half of the country’s secondary schools and colleges

Claudia Harris, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said:

“Preparing young people for the fast-changing world of work has never been more important. There is incredible work going on in schools, colleges, employers and more across the country. We hope these awards are a small way to say thank you and shine a light on this amazing work.”

Judge Nick Bowen, Principal at Horizon Community College and who sits on The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Headteacher Advisory Group, said:

“This year we had a record number of entries. It was a real challenge to pick the winners because of the amazing quality of entries. This is a testament to the increasing excellence of careers provision and partnership across the country. Projects/schools/colleges/businesses/individuals like this are helping thousands of young people to fulfil their futures. They should be very proud of themselves.”

Paula said of her Enterprise Adviser role:

“Working with the school has been a joy.  In my HR day job, employers complain about recruitment difficulties in finding skills.  We can close that gap”.

Paula Grayson is one of three regional winners in the Enterprise Adviser of the Year category. The Careers & Enterprise Company will announce which of the three strong shortlist is the overall national winner at its Annual Conference on Wednesday 4 July 2018.