1Can you explain your role in one sentence?I manage and deliver employment and training projects to help local residents find work.

2Did you find yourself in this role by accident or design and how long have you been doing it?It was by accident. Before PDT, I went through an employment programme myself which led to my first job as an administrator. I then faced redundancy, and it felt like it was back to square one. I did temping but realised it was not my forte, and eventually found my way to PDT. Now I have been working here for over 25 years! I started as a Monitoring Officer and continued progressing until my current role as Deputy CEO Economic Development.
I’ve stayed so long because of the organisation’s core values to empower residents and contribute to economic activity. It resonates with me.
It’s also a very varied role. A typical day could involve delivering workshops, meeting clients, writing funding proposals, or engaging stakeholders.

3What’s the best part about your role?I get to support local people and organisations. For me it’s about giving back. No matter how high up I get in the organisation, I will continue talking to clients all the time, as this is how you get a feel for what it’s like day-to-day and how to recognise the gaps in services.
My biggest highlight is looking at my team and the joy of seeing them grow. All of my team, with the exception of one, started as a volunteer with us. There is a passion that everyone comes with. They have lived experience which is so important in helping our clients.

4What’s the most challenging part of your role?Funding and the duration of funding. Right now, it’s really difficult. There can be an assumption that everyone in the charity sectors volunteers their time, but we have staff costs like any other organisation.
Our work is a process that for some clients goes beyond a six-month funding cycle. My team believes that if you don’t support clients through personal issues you can’t begin to find them work. Everyone’s journey into work is different yet there are very few funding models that recognise this.

5In your experience, what intervention makes the biggest difference to your service users who are looking for employment?We are not just an employment agency; we support clients by eliminating any barriers to employment. Which often means collaborating with other agencies to support with housing, lack of digital skills, drug and alcohol misuse, etc. We support residents with a wide range of employability skills, such as CV workshops, confidence building, application form filling, interview techniques, understanding micro aggression, work shadowing, ESOL training and lots more! 

6How many local people does PDT support and what are your plans for the coming months?PDT overall supports over 30,000 people per year. Our employment programmes will work with any job centre referrals, but we particularly help over 50s, as well as women through our SWEET (Supporting Women into Education Employment and Training) programme. We run a number of employability workshops, mock interviews, workplace visits, and we are always looking for new companies to work with us and support this process. We co-design skills training to meet employer needs, help demystifying job roles across different sectors, and support employers to recruit local labour.

7What do you like most about the local area?I live locally, off the Edgware Road, and it’s the heart of London. It’s very well connected. But I also see the disparity of opportunity. At PDT, we are proud to give a voice to those facing challenges in the community and help them find solutions.

8What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?I love dancing, walking and watching movies. Afrobeats is both my form of exercise and my stress relief! I like to watch hospital dramas and cheesy romantic films, like a good Christmas feelgood movie!

9If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?Mauritius. I’ve never been before. They have nice beaches, hot weather, and it seems somewhere you can really relax!

10Who is your hero and why?Professor Oluwafunmilayo Olonisakin [a British Nigerian scholar] who became the first black female Vice Principle of King’s College London.
She is very encouraging, compassionate and a good leader who is impacting the lives of women by inspiring, encouraging and supporting them to be leaders. I brought her in to PDT to deliver leadership training to some of our clients. She is a very inspiring person.
I have watched her work really hard. She completed her second degree and then her Masters whilst working two jobs. She is the epitome of tenacity.  She remains humble and always sees the good in people.