THE SELF-HELP GROUP FOR SUPPORTING JOB-SEEKING
MANAGERS & PROFESSIONALS IN WEST BERKSHIRE
Our Volunteers
Our volunteers fill four types of role:
Meeting roles - Speaker / workshop leader, meeting chairperson, host, jobseeker induction
Organisational - chairperson, programme manager, treasurer
Service (client-facing) - 1-to-1 advising, CV review, mentoring, coaching, career planning etc.
Back-office - fund-raising, marketing, information management, webmaster, volunteer liaison, employer liaison, stakeholder liaison.
If you are interested in helping others relaunch their careers and can volunteer some of your time - as little as twice a year or more frequently if you can - then we look forward to hearing from you. Our current team of volunteers include a self-employed trainer, a semi-retired management consultant, a homeworker and the director of a small local business - see profiles of some of our volunteers below.
To learn more about what's involved, please (contact us by email).
Volunteer Profiles
Below are profiles of some of our current volunteers. Since CSWB is a Charity it is managed by a group of seven Trustees, who are identified after their volunteer role. Recent changes have been the resignation of John Newell as a trustee, which he had been since our founding in 2014. However, he continues as a volunteer. At our AGM in 2002 former job seekers James Gardiner and Dorothy Nesbit were appointed as trustees.
Adrian Foster-Fletcher - Chairman, programme manager, speaker and advisor. (Trustee)
Adrian is a businessman, who has started four businesses. One as an International Head Hunter, specialising in sales and marketing roles in IT, one installing energy saving equipment in businesses, one an environmental consultancy and in retirement he continues to manage the property business he built in the 1990s.
Adrian was formerly Chairman of Stroke Care for West Berkshire, helping Stroke survivors return to independent living, and was the local co-ordinator and prominent campaigner for the environmental group Friends of the Earth. He has a bachelor's degree from Manchester University in the History of Art, and a Masters from the University of Surrey in Environmental Management.
Adrian brings his experience of recruiting into several of our workshops, including "How recruiters work". He also provides 1-on-1 advice to our job seekers.
Charles Fowler - advisor (Trustee).
Charles joined us in 2016. He is a management Consultant assisting a variety of companies to achieve their objectives. He has a mechanical engineering degree and has worked as a project engineer in the UK and overseas. He then did business-to-business marketing and general management, both leading a SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) and building two consultancies. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Cranfield MBA. As well as offering 1-on-1 support to our job seekers he also helps host meetings.
James Gardiner - advisor, speaker, treasurer (Trustee).
James joined us in 2022. James Gardiner started his career as a production engineer and after gaining an MBA he then worked for 12 years as a strategy consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. Later he held various international general management positions for Elster Group (now Honeywell), manufacturer of utility meters. Over the last ten years James has worked with cleantech SMEs in various management positions and as a consultant. He is currently Managing Director of Natural Resources (2000) Ltd. which has developed technology for manufacture of pulp-based bottles. In addition he continues to work as a consultant with companies in energy monitoring and management, water technology and other renewables.
David J Skyrme - speaker.
David is a retired management consultant and writer. He had a 25-year career in the computing industry, most of them with Digital Equipment Corporation where he held various roles in the UK, Europe and USA including salesperson, marketing manager, product manager and strategic planning manager. Following redundancy in 1993, he became a world-wide recognised expert in knowledge management, on which he has written several reports and books, has implemented projects and has carried out management training.
He runs several of our workshops, and also mini-sessions on topics such as 'Marketing yourself on the internet' and 'Be your own boss' (starting a business).
His interests include photography, rambling, family history and chess.
Graham Storey - speaker, advisor.
Graham is an experienced Chairman and CEO with a track record in developing businesses to succeed in the digital world. Following success in turning Auto Trader into one of the most profitable online businesses in the UK Graham was CEO of Group GTI, a graduate recruitment business helping young people from education to employment in the UK and Europe. Graham’s non-executive experience covers as diverse as the parenting website Mumsnet and ChartCo, the largest distributor of shipping charts. He is currently Chair of Caroola, a leading accountancy and umbrella employment business.
Having built management teams and worked with the hiring managers of many large organisations, Graham’s speciality is understanding what employers are looking for when recruiting.
Ian Vickerage - advisor (Trustee).
Ian is a successful businessman and former President of the West Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. He offers practical 1-on-1 advice to our job seekers.
William Pitt - webmaster.
William is a retired IT manager who predominantly worked in the insurance industry. He has just over 35 years of experience, starting as a software developer but progressing into various management roles including product management, delivery and support. He has several years working as a company's MD. He has worked with clients across four continents.