Blog Layout
An Opportunity To Support Education
Gillian Askew • May 16, 2020
This is a subtitle for your new post
Being part of something
I first became a governor of a primary school in Upton, Wakefield, in 2016 and absolutely loved it. Don’t get me wrong; it's not easy, that first foray into being a governor and having not had children I didn't know the school system very well either. Whilst I understood governance, learning how to govern a school was not straightforward. Despite that, I enjoyed being a part of the school and doing my bit to help to make sure that our children had the best we could give them. Sadly, I had to leave my tenure early due to some significant health issues in my family. But last year as my family recovered, I knew I wanted to seek out a new governance role.
Clear vision and values
I started my career in procurement in early 1995 (wow, nearly 26 years ago) and over that time I’ve established a clear vision based on social value, mobility, equality and participation. I campaign for fairness in business and in life and I challenge when I see it lacking. I'm not afraid to hold the mirror up to myself or to the organisations I work with or to try to fully represent what I believe in. In business last year, having set up All Things Procurement (ATP) I approached the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) for support around widening participation for the small business community within the public sector. They invited me to set up a Special Interest Group which I now chair on their behalf. My beliefs are also why getting invited to support the probation reform programme within the Ministry of Justice was an easy yes for me. One of the programme aims is to increase the participation for small businesses, local provision and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sectors through procurement.
I founded All Things Procurement on these principles, and in my personal life I behave in-line with the values that I hold dear. I’ve seen the world the way I want it to be and I’m keen to do my bit to help make it that way so it made sense to me that I would want to find a governorship that would appeal to my passions and beliefs.
When you know you know
I’m proud of my long standing position as a volunteer in Education for Inspiring The Future run by Education and Employers. They were actually heavily involved in helping me find my next Governance opportunity and after spending some time with me, they introduced me to Nexus Multi Academy Trust. I did already have some prior knowledge of some of the schools in the Trust from when my husband and I ran our Care Farm in 2013-2019 and from the moment I met the Trust and listened to its values, culture and ambitions, I knew it was a team I really wanted to join. I'm happy to say they felt the same way and I joined as a Director of the Trust Board on 1st April this year.
Celebrating individuality
Nexus is a school led Trust and at its core there’s a real celebration of what makes each school unique. The Trust has been built on respecting the individuality of each of the schools, whilst providing support and guidance to the schools, students and their communities. The team are dedicated to mastering the tough balancing act of being able to get the best out of being part of a Trust, whilst never losing sight of how important the local elements are. This is one of the things that most attracted me to Nexus. That, and its ambitions, goals and strategic capacity. What I’ve found is a Trust that puts the children in our schools at the beating heart of everything it does and the Trust work tirelessly to put support in place that makes sense now, and in the future.
I’m so grateful that Nexus have seen something in me that they feel aligns with their values and ambitions and they’ve given me a fantastic opportunity to bring my skills and knowledge to the Board. I’m here to support the schools and their students as best I can and to help continue to develop this incredible school community that I’m proud to be part of.
In 2019 I approached the Federation of Small Businesses asking if I could work with them on trying to make it easier for small businesses to access and work in the public sector. They invited me to set up and Chair a Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG is made up of small businesses and public sector organisations and our one exam question is centred around that widening participation agenda. We have 4 activity streams in the SIG, one of which is SME/VCSE development program. We've called it Go4Growth and it's a free (forever) program and community. Go4Growth as a team is made up of several small businesses working together to help other SMEs and VCSEs to navigate the sometimes complex world of the Public Sector. We have a built a program that we believe can help any smaller business, regardless of type. Here are just a few of our current focus areas: 1. Helping businesses to grow in the Public Sector 2. Building relationships or taking the first steps to supply the Public Sector 3. Collaborative working or consortia/partnerships 4. Building greater economic resilience for the future 5. Recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 6. Dealing with Brexit, environmental or other issues Our program offers support in various ways; our aim is to ensure it's accessible to everyone, personalised to your business so support is given in a way that makes the most sense and adds the most value to you. I'm really proud to be Go4Growth, I'm proud of the program, how quickly we have developed it and how only a few weeks in we are seeing more and more businesses get involved so already we're identifying barriers and helping businesses to overcome them. For any small businesses or VCSEs out there reading this blog, give me a shout. The program is there to help you grow in the public sector and connect you with a fast growing business community. Gill gill@go4growth.co.uk www.twitter.com/Go4Growth_UK www.LinkedIn.com/Company/Go4Growth www.facebook.com/Go4GrowthUK www.facebook.com/groups/Go4Growth
This week I wanted to write something that relates directly to the ethos of All Things Procurement – the social enterprise I run – which is ‘see the world how you want it to be then make it that way’. So I’m going to talk about the kind of world I want to live in and the things I’m doing to contribute to making that world a reality. To do that I need to give you some background. I’m a 47 year old woman and I adore the profession I chose (albeit by accident) way back in 1995. I’m what I lovingly call a ‘career procurer’. It’s what I do, it’s part of who I am and it’s given me so many opportunities over the years to really make a difference. I feel very lucky to have the career I’ve had but I will admit, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Women in business I’ve worked in some sectors where my gender has definitely made it more difficult for me and I’ve felt the weight and pressure of that sadly many times. The need to work harder, be better, smarter, funnier even than my male counterparts and I’ve been that director where when I entered a boardroom full of my male peers, the quip was “Oh good, she’s here. Now we can have coffee” or being told I should categorically re-think the role I was about to undertake because no female executive had done it before, or when I got divorced to be told I was now “fair game”. It's not a small list sadly, and thankfully things have improved over the years but there is still much more to be done. Have those experiences soured me? No. Have they made me champion women in business? Absolutely yes. Last year I joined a Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Women in Entrepreneurship group because I want to help young women feel empowered to set up their own businesses. I want to support and mentor other females who have the burning desire to do great things but may not have the confidence to get started. I’ve been a part of women in business and women in procurement groups for years, all of which are designed to help women forge their careers without apology. I will do all I can to help women navigate their chosen career path because sometimes; all it takes is for somebody to see your potential, and help you take the all important first step in the right direction. Judge me on my talent Does any of this make me a feminist? I’ve often wondered about this over the years. I’m not a fan of labels, but I guess if I had one it would more likely be that of an individualist. I want to live in a world where your success is driven by your own ambition and on your talent; and those things alone. I want to live in a genuine meritocracy where the barriers to entry don’t exist and the equality of opportunity is tangible. I want to be judged on what I do and how I do it; my values, talent and work ethic. This is evident in how I am shaping All Things Procurement which is founded on the principles of widening participation. I’m focussing right now on helping the small business and VCSE communities access the public sector where it can be notoriously difficult for smaller organisations. I am helping to help shape the public sector into a place where every business has the same ability to access. I am both a small business and a public sector procurement professional and have been for many years now, so having the insight from both perspectives helps me make sense of how to level the playing field better. I am helping to create more local employment opportunities, build resilience into local economies, increase the social and economic outputs for communities and spend the taxpayers’ money better. Building diversity into the supply chain I’m focussing on helping make the public sector business environment both traversable and accessible for small businesses and VCSE’s. I’m happy to say I’m not alone in this and in doing so, the process itself starts to naturally build diversity into the supply chain. It’s a big ask and I’m grateful that the Special Interest Group I chair on behalf of the FSB is full of people who have the same ambition and aspirations. It takes real commitment and passion to drive through change and we’re starting to make a real difference. I’m Gillian. And I’ve seen the world how I want it to be and I’m doing my bit to make it that way.