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CONTENTS 1 What is WorKingOptions? 2 Information for Tutors 3 Information for Supporters 4 - 10 WorkingOptions Student Area 11 The people behind WorKingOptions 12 Getting in touch with WorKingOptions 1 What is WorKingOptions? Our young people are Britain's future. Many young people are unsure what is possible in life and will benefit from help and support. WorKingOptions (part of The MonKeyBusiness Foundation) focuses on State School, VI form students who demonstrate real potential and want to help themselves. With our support they can deliver demonstrable success in their educational and career achievements. This in turn will create a virtuous cycle of potential, development and productivity that can make a positive contribution to individuals and our country. The WorKingOptions programme provides: Motivation and Information sessions: • Coordinated by volunteer supporters, these services to students will give examples of typical educational and career experiences as well as simple tips and advice. The WorKingOptions principles for success are: • Work/Life Balance • Hard work • Networking • Persistence • Positive Thinking Website services: • Information on further education and careers • Links to helpful external advice • WorKingOptions sponsors and supporters own career advice and job opportunities • Questions and Answers facility Annual Scholarships for talented students: • Each year a selection process will be run in every town supporting the WorKingOptions Programme to identify and award one outstanding individual VI former. Students will be asked to prepare and present a paper on a topic from the Grocery Industry. The Judging panel will include tutors, WorKingOptions associates, and someone from the Careers Academy. The winning student will be sponsored through work experience and University. General Bursary support for university applications and selection: • Each school/college running the WorKing Options Programme will be allocated an annual allowance to provide financial support to deserving students who otherwise would find it difficult to apply to University and attend interviews. Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk A few words from Paul Monk (Founder WorKingOptions) “I remember so vividly as an 18 year old not having much idea of what was possible to achieve in life and have long wanted to help raise the ceiling of expectation for today's teenagers who find themselves in a similar situation. My parents were very supportive and encouraged me to do well at school but at that time no-one in our family had been to university. Today the prospect of a perceived financial burden can decrease students and their families' desire for them to pursue a university education. Even before they have to decide between work or university many students arrive at VI Form with GCSE results that are below average and more importantly, behind what they are capable of. It is not too late where this is the case. I want to help as many VI Form students as we are able to realise what is possible in life and work hard to achieve better educational results and successful careers. I have worked all my career in consumer products, mostly in The Grocery Trade and can wholeheartedly recommend it as an extremely varied and interesting sector to work in. As the biggest employer in The UK it offers a very broad range of careers and roles, recruits from a wide cross section of the community and is well recognised for promoting talent on merit. Several people have been instrumental in making WorkingOptions a reality and I would like to recognise their contributions below: Sufian Sadiq for answering my email in the first place and inspiring and organising the first WorkingOptions Scholarship. Reeon Wiltshire student, for asking the first four questions at the initial speech and co-inspiring the Scholarship Programme. Lauren Monk niece, for getting a First in her Law Degree, her invaluable perspective as a recent student, her great work on the website and for her presentations to the students. Steve Hardy business partner, for working tirelessly in the background setting up my charity foundation. Fiona Mack business partner, for her belief and developing and running the Scholarship Programme. John Freer DHL Director and Careers Academy, for facilitating such a smooth partnership with the Careers Academy. 2 Website services: This poem was written by a Luton Sixth Form College Student Reeon Wiltshire, who was a finalist for the first WorKingOptions Scholarship and inspired the idea of a Scholarship in the first place: “We all live and breathe the same air So why is it that certain lives are unfair Kids from estates with outstanding IQ's With significant talent that never gets used Life is a journey, some say a quest To reach your objective requires your best Money, success, following fashion Can all be ignored as these are bi products of passion Without my passion and drive correlation I wouldn't be standing here in front of you giving this presentation The will to progress is instilled in me To constantly learn and be the best I can be So why do I deserve this I hear you ask The truth is we all deserve this that's why we were given the task If unsuccessful I will have a positive reflection Of being given the opportunity for the initial selection” By Reeon Wiltshire • Information on further education and careers • Links to helpful external advice • WorKingOptions sponsors and supporters own career advice and job opportunities • Questions and Answers facility Annual Scholarships for talented students: • Each year a selection process will be run in every town supporting the WorKingOptions Programme to identify and award one outstanding individual VI former. Students will be asked to prepare and present a paper on a topic from the Grocery Industry. The Judging panel will include tutors, WorKingOptions associates, and someone from the Careers Academy. The winning student will be sponsored through work experience and University. General Bursary support for university applications and selection: • Each school/college running the WorKing Options Programme will be allocated an annual allowance to provide financial support to deserving students who otherwise would find it difficult to apply to University and attend interviews. How can you get involved? You will be a head of department, or a leading tutor within the VI form faculty. There are several ways to get involved... and it is entirely up to you! • Use this WorKingOptions website: www.workingoptions.co.uk Information for Tutors • You can contact us to register your interest for direct support and we will actively seek Volunteers to assist you. What WorKingOptions means for your school • You can be pro-active with local businesses and get them involved and signed up for the programme. WorKingOptions provides your school with a unique opportunity to supplement your teaching schedules and careers forum with input and support from Grocery industry manufacturers and retailers. The programme is highly flexible and can be integrated into your current educational system. Your students will benefit from exposure to helpful advice and by having an opportunity to demonstrate their potential by being selected for a range of support programmes: • You can request Guru Lecturers to deliver lectures to students. • Arrange workplace visits to see how companies function. • Support by identifying internships for outstanding students. Broader Aims Of WorKingOptions • Accelerate learning process • Improve work rate and application of students Motivation and Information sessions: • Raise standard of learning for all • Coordinated by volunteer supporters, these services to students will give examples of typical educational and career experiences as well as simple tips and advice. • Improve A level results and Degree grades The WorKingOptions principles for success are: • Offer broader student bursary support to help with University applications and accelerated learning needs • Work/Life Balance • Hard work • Networking • Persistence • Positive Thinking Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk • Enhance productivity in VI forms and ultimately the workplace • Identify and support the most talented students • Use WorKingOptions scholars to positively influence educational performance of peer group • Encourage and support the process of social mobility 3 Information for Supporters How you can actively support the success of WorKingOptions by getting involved as: Volunteers We are delighted that you are considering becoming involved in the programme as a volunteer. Our Volunteers contribute hugely to the success of the programme and without them WorKingOptions would not be as effective as it is. It is also a tremendously satisfying role - in our experience you will get as much out of this as the students. As a Volunteer, you are able to add immense value to student insights by helping with a variety support services: • Motivation and Information sessions • Helping to organise and select Annual Scholarships for talented students that include work experience and support through university. • Directing students to website services containing comprehensive information and links to other sites as well as a Q+A facility for students. The first step is to contact your old school and discuss WorKingOptions with the Principal or Headmaster. All you have to do is pledge your donation by writing to info@workingoptions.co.uk and letting us know how much you would like to donate per month or year. Individual Sponsors We are delighted that you are considering becoming involved in the programme as a sponsor. Our Sponsors contribute hugely to the success of the WorKingOptions programme. Your first step is to contact WorKingOptions to discuss the levels of support and how involved you wish to be in the implementation of the programme. Sponsors will also have the opportunity to post links for career advice and job details for students. As a Sponsor, you are able to add immense value by: • Providing sponsorships, bursaries and work experience to selected students that will enable them to realise their full potential. • In addition, you and your organisation may wish to get more involved and supply Volunteers to aid with programme implementation • Fund-raising and provision of general bursary support for university applications and selection. The first step is to contact your old school and discuss WorKingOptions with the Principal or Headmaster. If there is a mutual interest please contact us to discuss how you plan to support the school and the WorKingOptions programme at: info@workingoptions.co.uk Your personal connection with the school is very important in helping students relate to the message of what is possible. Many towns have multiple feeder schools to one VI form college, if this is the case, your role as a Lead volunteer is much simpler to accomplish. Another recommendation that works well is to complement the programme with someone who attended the VI form more recently and has already achieved success in their education and career (Tutors can help to identify such candidates). Individual Donors We are delighted that you are considering becoming involved in the programme as an individual Donor. Our Donors contribute hugely to the success of the programme and we appreciate your interest and support. If you wish you can be listed on the website as a Supporter of the WorKingOptions programme. As a Donor, you are able to add immense value by: • Donating much needed funds to help with the running of WorKingOptions programmes. • Provide support for the Bursary programme. Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk Please contact us today with a short message and your contact details to have a more in-depth discussion at: info@workingoptions.co.uk Businesses We are delighted that you are considering becoming involved in the programme as a business. Businesses that support WorKingOptions, contribute hugely to the success of the programme through providing work experience for selected students. As a Business, you are able to add immense value by: • Providing an appropriate environment within which selected students can gain much needed work experience. • Provide important workplace opportunities for school leavers and or graduates of the programme. • Donating much needed funds to help with the running of the programme. Your first step is to contact WorKingOptions to discuss the level of the support you wish to make and how involved you wish to be in the implementation of the programme. Please contact us today with a short message and your contact details to have a more in-depth discussion at: info@workingoptions.co.uk 4 What is Working Options? Working Options is a non-profit organisation set up that aims to help young people of all abilities and backgrounds to succeed in their careers after education, whether that be school, college or university. career in the Food and Drinks industry and is an expert in his chosen field, The idea is that students can contact us at Working Options and ask for advice and help on making choices and ask successful and experienced people about their careers to date and any suggestions they may have. Management Training Scheme with Marks & Spencer’s. He then went on to We understand the difficulties faced by young people from all groups, but in particular we have a passion for making sure talented youngsters from State Schools who may not have access to as many contacts or the financial means for further education are noticed and given a chance. working with some of the best in the industry. Paul started his journey after leaving Luton Sixth Form to join a three year work for Mars starting as a sales executive and spent 18 successful years with the company before joining Golden Wonder for seven years. Paul has developed a very impressive portfolio as a consultant working with the best in the FMCG industry and still continues to do so. I am Paul’s niece Lauren Monk and also went to Luton Sixth Form College before studying Law at the University of Hertfordshire. I graduated with 1st How Was Working Options Started Working Options was born after my Uncle Paul approached me with the idea of us both going back to the local Sixth Form College that we both attended to give a talk to the students. By sharing his journey to date and demonstrating that anything is possible, together we could help inspire and motivate the students. It is not just the brightest, most well educated of our society who can be successful. I wanted to get involved with the project as having recently graduated myself I understand the challenges faced by young people. I wanted to help give younger students an insight into the challenges I faced as a graduate and what they might want to start doing now to give themselves the best possible chance after their education. About Us Paul Monk was born in Luton and his hometown is still very close to his heart. Paul left Luton Sixth Form College and has built a very successful Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk class honours in 2010 and since leaving University I have worked with The Walt Disney Company’s in-house legal teams and currently work as a Legal and Business Affairs Executive for the BBC. I wanted to get involved with Working Options because I am passionate about this project and what it is trying to achieve. Having recently graduated myself, I understand the struggles faced by young people today and how competitive it is out in the world after education. I am here to keep our social networking sites going and will be working behind the scenes to give people the info they want and need! We thought it would be a good idea to give you an outline of some key topics that will help you in deciding about University and your future career, including some other tips and links to some interesting articles, reports and websites. Lauren Monk. So here goes! 5 University…to go or not to go that is the question? Parents, families and teachers can have an influence on us and are You can look for apprenticeships or training schemes and can add to your important, but ultimately you have to choose which path you want to skills by studying vocational courses which could help you to gain specialist take and do what makes you happy. skills which could lead to you starting your own company. Going to university obviously gives you a degree which a lot of employers The main thing to remember is that going to university is a great do like to see and it demonstrates you are able to dedicate and commit experience, but it is not for everyone and it is a decision you need to spend yourself to something for three or four years of hard work. time thinking seriously about. It also demonstrates a large number of skills and that you have an interest in a particular area or career path. How to write an effective Personal Statement? When applying to the University of your choice you will need to write a A degree can also help to ‘fast-track’ your career and means you are able to apply for graduate schemes which can lead to better paid positions and COMPELLING Personal Statement. This could make all the difference to your selection as a potential Undergraduate! improved career advancement. A good approach to any written Personal Statement is to really think about However there are a lot of very successful people who didn’t go to University, Paul (the Founder of WorKingOptions) is a terrific example of this. If you choose not to go to University you can always join an organisation and work your way up. This provides you with invaluable work experience that employers increasingly want to see. It also shows that you are not work shy and if you are good in your job, build good relationships with the right people and show you have potential, there is nothing to stop you! Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk what makes you a great candidate for selection, how you would demonstrate these attributes and why they are important to the your application. Please visit the University page on the WorKingOptions website for some terrific links to sites that will help you formulate a really effective Personal Statement. 6 Scholarships for Talented Students About the Scholarships All Scholarships will be used by the successful candidate to supplement their financial and educational needs through University Finally, they will also be assessed regarding their family circumstances including financial ability to fund further education. and work based placements. About the Bursaries In terms of the Scholarships offered, these will be allocated to a beneficiary In addition to the Scholarships offered, another important element of the Working Options programme will be the Bursaries. on a periodic basis during which time, should a beneficiary fail to meet performance targets, they may have their Grant or Scholarship withdrawn. This will help to ensure stable performance and give the successful candidates an incentive to keep improving and adapting their skills and The Trustees and the Sixth Form Colleges will together decide on the allocation of the Bursaries to the successful beneficiaries. The Bursaries will in essence help the beneficiaries by providing the following: abilities. In order to track and measure on-going performance results, achievement targets will be set for each beneficiary by the Sixth Form College, University tutors and the Working Options supporters,. These will be specifically AS Level grades, A Level grades, annual Degree assessments, module assessments and overall participation in classes. The selection process Potential Student beneficiaries are nominated by Sixth Form College staff and will be required to undertake a specific assignment designed to enable them to demonstrate important selection criteria. Please visit the WorkingOptions website Students Area ‘Scholarships and Bursaries’ to download the 'WorKingOptions Selection Criteria' PDF. • Support for families to cover travel and accommodation costs for University applications and work placement opportunities • Equipment to facilitate communications with University applications • Accelerated learning for high potential students or students who have had poor educational results at GCSE level, who either cannot afford additional tutoring or who have a family environment not conducive to educational development The successful candidate will be awarded the Scholarship based upon a balanced combination of merit and need. During the selection process the candidate will be required to prepare and present a presentation on an assigned topic to a panel, including the Sixth Form College Principal, one or more Industry sponsors and a Working Options Trustee or Supporter. Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk The Sixth Form College staff will administer and measure the effectiveness of the Bursaries and report back to the Trustees on the successful utilisation of the Bursary funds. 7 Applying for your first job It is essential that you are well prepared to begin your career whilst Ask a friend, tutor or family member to check through to see if they can find you are completing full-time education. Making the choice of which any errors. (Do not rely only on SPELLCHECK!) industry and functional discipline is right for you, is not always Layout can be important and it is advisable to make your CV no longer than straightforward and is a personal decision for each individual. You two pages. Employers don’t have time to read long CV’s and want to see may have family or friends who have worked in particular industries your main skills and what you can bring to them. The font should be around who can give you trusted advice, or you may already have a clear 11 or 12 and Times New Roman, Arial or something similar is preferable. preference based on your aspirations. Extra-curricular experiences, work experience and any part-time or The tips and advice contained below are relevant for any career path. summer jobs you have had should go on your CV, no matter how small, as it all adds to your appeal. Think about the skills you are demonstrating in these activities such as ability to meet deadlines, team work, initiative, The Grocery Industry is the largest employer in the UK. More importantly it creativity, commitment, leadership and having a commercial awareness, provides huge opportunities for career and personal development across a and the list goes on! It is important you can show you are a well-rounded range of trade sectors; retailing, wholesaling, manufacturing food or person with interests outside of your school and college work. So if you feel beverages, and across the full breadth of functional disciplines and skills; you are lacking in this area – it is never too late to change and start General Management, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Legal, Production, Human something new! Relations, Supply Chain, Research and Development, Logistics. Information overload – keep the information on your CV relevant (less is If you choose the Grocery Industry you will discover a professional, fast- more) and highlight your achievements and results rather than purely moving industry that rewards individuals based upon achievement and descriptive. So for example if you have worked in a retail environment as a merit. sales advisor it would be a good idea to include any details of targets you How to make Your CV stand out? have reached or exceeded. Interesting facts and info about yourself – never underestimate your Here is some general advice that may help: own experiences. This may sound obvious but SPELLING and GRAMMAR are absolutely vital If you have been travelling for a month around Europe or ran a marathon or to have any chance of making it through the hundreds of CV’s that anything that shows you have interests, include it in your CV – employers employers currently receive. It is one of the easiest ways for them to love to see that you are an interesting person with a passion and love for eliminate a candidate from the process so do not let one of them be you! life!....continues over.... Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk 8 continued.... What are your top Interview Tips? genuinely interested in the company and you want the job. It is a good idea to have a couple of sensible questions prepared, such as “what do you like Here are some general pointers: most about working here” or “what is a typical day like in this role”. I also Appearance is so important and dressing smartly and not overdoing it with find it useful to ask whether there is anything you have said that they would make-up, jewellery or hair is a good idea. You want to appear presentable like you to go over again or clear up. and like you have made a conscious effort. Research, research, research! This is so important for an interview and application forms or covering letters. Make sure you do some research into the company you are interviewing for. A very common question in interviews is “why do you want to work for us” or “what do you know about Follow-up – it is always a good idea to follow up after an interview if you don’t hear back within a week or so. It is fine to just give them a call and ask if there is an update. If you are unsuccessful always ask for feedback! It is so useful and very important for your future development and shows you the areas you need to improve on. us and our competitors”. A good place to start is the company website if they have one and then also look for anything in the news about them. If you know people that work for the company, speak to them and ask them for advice and if there is anything you should know about. Also look to see if they are on social networking sites which may give some helpful info. Prepare and practice some interview answers. Look back through your experience and skills you have gained to date and think about how you meet the skills required for the job and company. Get a friend or family member to ask you some questions and practice your answers in front of them. If you are too uncomfortable with this you could always try just practicing in front of a mirror at home. Positivity is important and you want to show that you are keen and have a can-do attitude! If an employer asks you about a negative experience or what your weaknesses are try and turn these into a positive. For example “ I can sometimes take longer to complete a project because I am a perfectionist but this means that I always work to the best of my ability and The Guardian has a fantastic website for careers advice - please visit workingoptions.co.uk Student Area ‘Job Applications’ to find out more. How do I perform better in psychometric assessments? This is in reference to assessments a lot of employers use during the employment process and especially for graduate roles and graduate schemes. Each company will vary but the usual ones are verbal and numerical reasoning tests. These tests are used to assess your logical thinking and ask a lot of you in a very short amount of time. You then have to reach a certain percentage to make it into the pool of candidates they consider for interview. Like any tests....the more you do them, the better you can perform especially when under the pressure of a job interview... PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE is the key! want nothing but the best results”. Take your time in the interview. If you need a moment to think or go In addition to these standard tests there are others such as blank DON’T PANIC! Just pause and think about your answer before giving personality and motivation questionnaires that a prospective employer it. If you do go completely blank just ask if it is ok to come back to that might use to assess your suitability. You can access free example question. It is important that what you say is actually answering the tests online and also buy some too. They do require a certain question and that you are speaking clearly and showing you have thought technique and I would advise getting used to them sooner rather than about it. later. Ask questions! At the end of most interviews you will be asked whether Please visit the WorKingOptions website Student Area ‘Job you have any questions. This is a great opportunity to show that you are Applications’ for some useful links. Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk 9 WorKingOptions Principles 4 Success Work/Life Balance difference between grades or just generally improving your performance. This is obviously something that is often mentioned and maybe more If you are competing with peers who have similar capabilities to you... for relevant later on in your career. It is evident that hard work is resources, time, jobs etc., it is likely that you are all equally qualified to essential if you want to do well, progress and improve your win... those that work harder tend to be more successful! You do also have performance. to take heed of the above and make sure you don’t overdo it but ultimately However this is not to say that you have to go to the extreme and work hard work needs to be put in to get the results you want! every hour you possibly can, as this can be just as bad as not working at all. It is the quality of the work and productivity that matters and not Networking necessarily the amount of hours. Building good relationships with as many people as possible leads to at Some of the most successful people work very hard but also have a life outside of work and are happier and healthier because of it. It makes sense that the happier you are and more varied your life the better your work will least two things - more people who are likely to help you and more potential opportunities, remembering you'll need to help others when you can and don't only make contact when you need help! be. Networking does come more naturally to some but if you find it more Everything in moderation! You are not a machine! Ensure that you invest challenging just imagine it’s a normal chat about common interests. sufficient time with your family and friends. With great planning and time This is also something that will become easier the longer you are working management – you can work very smart and hard and also have great and the further on in your career you get. You also need some resilience in times away from work! this area and don’t give up! People are very busy and can easily forget Hard Work someone has contacted them – so there is nothing wrong with contacting them again if you don’t hear from them within a reasonable amount of time. So this may seem obvious but it is so simple and true that hard work is the key to most successes. There is no substitution for hard work! Some of us have to work harder at things than others but if you want to do the best you Just be cautious not to overdo it and don’t take it personally when and if someone doesn’t respond. Just keep going! It is what makes people stand possibly can then you need to put in the work needed to get to that point. out! For example spending an extra hour a day studying may mean the ....continues over.... Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk 10 continued.... Positive Thinking Starting-up your own business is a big step and success is desperately This is an area many students and young working people can improve, even hard to achieve! Many new businesses fail... some of them great ideas that amongst those with outstanding results. Everyone seems to find it easy to are badly executed. turn positives into negatives but not the opposite so let's concentrate on It takes extremely hard work, consumes your life, and requires people to feeling good about strengths and understand how to defend our strengths make big sacrifices. He warns of caution of how this route may appear from when challenged. reality TV shows and that you need to assess and minimise risks! Positivity breeds positivity and if you have a positive attitude people will naturally be more drawn to you and have positive feelings towards you. Also if you think positively about an interview for example you will no doubt have a more positive experience and this leaves the employer with a good impression! Please visit the WorKingOptions website Student Area ‘Advice’ for a link to a Guardian Careers article that explains the importance of overcoming Top 10 questions for assessing your opportunities to become a successful entrepreneur: If you can answer YES to at least 7 out of 10 questions you might have a chance of success! negativity. Career Academy Overview Luton Sixth Form College’s outstanding Career Academy transforms • Do you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and can passionately communicate it to others? lives and improves the future prospects of young people. It is part of a national network of 180 academies – and is one of the shining examples, having achieved Grade 1 status. The academy works with more • Do you have a compelling idea that can be translated into a successful business? than 100 local and national business organisations, helping to bridge the gap between education and employment. Every year the academy receives about 300 applications from students wanting to enrol on the programme. A tough selection process whittles these applicants down to 18. • Do you have a single-minded commitment to achieve success? • Are you prepared to work hard? (in many cases over 100 hours per week, every week for at least 5 years) This year, Luton Sixth Form College produced the inaugural WorKingOptions scholar. Umar Akhtar, 17, won the life-changing opportunity in a fierce contest which asked competing students to delve into the performances of major food or drink manufacturer or retailers. The WorKingOptions Scholarship will now run every year at the college, in conjunction with the Career Academy. • Are you committed to satisfying your customers? • Are you anal about planning and organising? • Are you persistent and determined to succeed when setbacks occur? Please see: www.careeracademies.org.uk • Are you confident in your ability to ‘sell’ your idea to What makes a successful entrepreneur? employees, customers, banks and suppliers? This is a difficult question to answer as everyone will have different experiences. • Do you have supportive family and friends? Paul advises that it is not for everyone and that although anything is • Are you generally a lucky person? possible, unfortunately not everybody can have the same kind of success as they might like. Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk 11 The people behind WorKingOptions Paul Monk Board of Trustees Managing Director Paul has extensive experience at Board Level in a variety of Grocery industry companies. In addition, he is responsible for Inventabrand Consulting providing top-level consulting services to many businesses in the Grocery Sector. Paul is passionate about his fundraising activities. Paul Monk Chair of Trustees Naynesh Desai Steve Hardy Company Secretary Steve has enjoyed a 35 year career associated with many parts of the Grocery Industry. He is committed to ensuring the success of MonKeyBusiness Foundation. Fiona Mack Naynesh Desai is the Senior Partner in a Mayfair firm of solicitors DDO and has been in practice for over 25 years. He advises and acts for a vast array of retailers throughout the United Kingdom, many of which are privately owned and operated family businesses. He also advises several large hotel groups in the United Kingdom. Naynesh has been the Chairman of The Bunbury Dinners which raises money for The English Schools Cricket Association for many years and acts for many high profile celebrity sportsmen and is on the Board of Ian’s Botham’s “Beefy’s Charitable Foundation. WorKingOptions Programme Director Fiona is a consultant in leadership development and a business performance coach. She has over 15 years commercial experience within the pharmaceutical industry working in a variety of senior roles across sales and marketing, but predominantly in training, coaching and organisational development. As well as running a successful consulting business, she is also a fully qualified yoga teacher. Fiona is dedicated to ensuring young people have access to opportunities and are encouraged to reach their full potential. She believes that Working Options is an exciting initiative which will inspire young people to achieve more with their lives. Jason Leonard Ambassador Jason enjoyed a hugely successful rugby career with England and the British Lions. He is now passionate about helping young people achieve their potential. Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk Sufian Sadiq Sufian is Business Course Manager and Career Academy Coordinator at Luton VI Form College, an institution he attended as a student. He is actively involved in fund-raising and manages a project developing vocational education for poorer communities in Malawi. Sufian is extremely positive about building relations with employers and as a Trustee of MonKeyBusiness Foundation hope to develop strong links between industry and education. Lauren Monk Lauren is Paul's niece and shares his passion about education and careers advice for young people and wanted to get involved with Working Options having recently graduated herself and understanding the issues faced by young people trying to carve out their careers. Since graduating with a law degree she has worked for The Walt Disney Company's legal teams and is now working for the BBC's legal teams. 12 Getting in touch with WorKingOptions Write to: Tutors and Students Contact: Lauren Monk: laurenm@workingoptions.co.uk WorKingOptions York House Harvest Hill Sufian Sadiq: sufians@workingoptions.co.uk Bourne End Buckinghamshire, SL8 5JJ Programme Supporters Contact: Registered office: info@workingoptions.co.uk Ember House 35 - 37 Creek Road East Molesey General Enquiries: Surrey KT8 9BE info@workingoptions.co.uk Visit us at: www.workingoptions.co.uk