Let’s hear it for this week’s Ambassador stepping into the Spotlight – Kate Greenwood. Kate will be a familiar face to many of you, having been part of our Ambassador Community since 2015.
As Work Opportunities Manager at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, she has delivered dozens of Apprenticeship Talks and careers fairs, alongside supporting her colleagues to become Ambassadors and share their own first-hand experience of working for the NHS within a huge range of roles.
Name: Kate Greenwood
Current position: Work Opportunities Team Manager
Organisation: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
What other jobs did you do, before this one?
During sixth form and University I worked part time at a Play Scheme and in retail at Marks and Spencer. I left University after studying Design Management but did not know what I wanted to do next.
I got my first full time job as an office junior in the facilities department at a law firm, then moved into their secretarial pool, and later into their finance team as an Accounts Assistant, gaining AAT qualifications. I then moved over to the NHS, CUH, in Finance for a couple of years, before moving into Human Resources in a widening participation role, which is where I have stayed and worked my way up over 15 years, gaining CIPD qualifications along the way.
Complete this sentence: “When I was growing up, I wanted to be..."
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a nursery assistant or something within childcare.
Best piece of career advice you have ever been given?
Find a job you enjoy doing each day and that you find personally rewarding – don’t worry too much about the end goal. You’ll gain transferable skills along the way.
When and why did you start volunteering with Form the Future?
I have worked with Form the Future since the beginning, in 2015, having networked with Anne at events before the launch of Form the Future. Widening participation is part of my role in the NHS, and some of my team members are also ambassadors, but Form the Future coordinates the external events, supports access to students and teachers, helps us to network with schools and other employers and links us into other network opportunities. This has enabled us to mould, expand and adjust our own service and aims within the hospital environment. It complements the work we do in-house.
What do you like most about being an Ambassador and/or what keeps you coming back?
The Form the Future team are passionate about what they do and are inspiring with the activities they offer for volunteering opportunities. The schools are prepped well for Ambassador visits, and it feels like you are benefitting them by being there. As well as communicating with the students, Form the Future offer employer events and networking opportunities for ambassadors which can include information and training sessions. Networking with like-minded individuals and employers who are all there for a shared purpose to support young people with knowledge and skills towards the world of work can give you a buzz.
How do you know that volunteering with Form the Future makes a real difference to young people (do you have a story you can share, that illustrates this)?
I attend a lot of the careers fairs where I get to speak individually to students. It is always a good thing when you can tell you have taught a student (or the teaching staff) something they did not know about the vast range of roles, career and training opportunities in the NHS. It is obvious that this can, and does, change their thought process about future possibilities.
Putting aside the benefit to the student, how else has volunteering with Form the Future been a beneficial experience for you?
Like I mentioned above, it helps me to develop and expand the service we offer in my day to day role and provides a network of contacts. It is nice to speak to new Ambassadors to share my experience – on how to speak to a room full of teenagers for example. As well the fact it has lifted my own confidence over time, I can help others do the same.
What would you say to someone who’s wondering whether to sign up as an Ambassador with Form the Future? (or) Why would you recommend volunteering with us to a fellow professional?
Go ahead and do it. You will be supporting or inspiring one young person, or many young people, the teaching staff, parents and yourself. It is rewarding in many different ways.
We share the Ambassador Spotlight in our monthly Ambassador Update emails, as well as on our website and social platforms. It’s a wonderful way to raise the profile of your own volunteering whilst supporting Form the Future in a new and different way.
If you’d like to feature in our next Ambassador Spotlight, email Dawn, our Ambassador Engagement Manager and she’ll send you questions to respond to.