{"id":21314,"date":"2023-05-18T10:58:18","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T09:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=21314"},"modified":"2023-05-18T10:58:18","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T09:58:18","slug":"boardroom-apprentice-programme-set-to-return-next-month-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2023\/05\/boardroom-apprentice-programme-set-to-return-next-month-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Boardroom Apprentice Programme Set To Return Next Month"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
2022 Boardroom Apprentices Craig Service, Alex Deonarine, Clodagh Palmer and Gillian Orr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boardroom Apprentice is set to return this year as applications for this year\u2019s programme are open on June 5.<\/span><\/p>\n

A UK first, the Boardroom Apprentice is a 12-month unique board learning, development and placement programme which enables those who would like to serve on a public or third sector board to learn and gain experience through in-depth training and support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Founded by Eileen Mullan in 2017, the programme is now entering its seventh year and has helped 277 candidates across Northern Ireland to begin their Boardroom journey thanks to its support from the Department of Finance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Open to those aged 16 or over from all backgrounds and all abilities, the programme seeks to enable a wider diversity of individuals to play their part within boardrooms and helps move the board member role from aspiration to reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eileen Mullan, Boardroom Apprentice founder, said: \u201cI decided to create a programme that brings together three key elements \u2013 knowledge, experience and support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver a twelve-month window Boardroom Apprentices will get practical board experience, a suite of learning days and support to fully equip them to serve on a board in the public or third sector in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a Boardroom Apprentice is a gift. You get the programme as a gift with the expectation that you give it back. Being a Boardroom Apprentice is about preparing you for public service, which is about you playing your part.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of her experience, Boardroom Apprentice Alex Deonarine who was placed with the Department of Health said: \u201cBeing a young, mixed race girl, I initially felt as if there was no room for me at the boardroom table.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t understand my potential and often questioned ‘what’s the point?’ or ‘what do I have to bring?’.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I learned was that anyone and everyone can serve on a board, it just takes confidence and believing in yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve never seen anyone \u201clike you\u201d on a board before, be the first one. You will never regret it \u2013 you will only treasure each and every experience on this journey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During the year, each Boardroom Apprentice has to attend eight learning days on topics such as finance, communication and governance along with the board placement on a board of their choice, matched by both Eileen and a selection of former apprentices.<\/span><\/p>\n

2022 Boardroom Apprentice, Craig Service, who was placed with the NI Police Fund said that the programme was a \u201chumbling\u201d experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

He added: \u201cBefore I joined the programme, I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect. I thought it would be daunting and I suppose I doubted my capabilities to be involved in such a programme.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI met and worked with wonderful people all of whom have their own views, opinions and experiences that I could learn from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing on a board is one of the most humbling and authentic experiences I have ever had. I would highly recommend the programme to anyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Boardroom Apprentice Gillian Orr, who was placed with Nexus, said her time on the course last year provided her with an opportunity to develop her soft skills: \u201cThrough the project work I developed greater interpersonal skills which were really helpful and mirrored the experience of being a new board member.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI also learned skills across different areas that I wouldn\u2019t typically have insight to, such as finance analysis and governance, all of which were accessible at all levels and applicable in my host board setting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Boardroom Apprentice Clodagh Palmer, who was placed with South Eastern Regional College said the experience helped her in her personal development journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBoardroom Apprentice enables people from different backgrounds to have an opportunity to be on a board\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be on a board for my personal development and to be able to give back to the community in which I live.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore applying I had no idea, to be honest, of what to expect and I thought it wouldn’t be as interesting as it was. I was wrong, as I soon found out the programme was far better than I ever expected.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much about how boards work, the intricacies and about what I can bring to the board.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s programme will run from September 1, 2023 – until August 31, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on Boardroom Apprentice go to <\/b>boardroomapprentice.com<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boardroom Apprentice is set to return this year as applications for this year\u2019s programme are open on June 5. A UK first, the Boardroom Apprentice is a 12-month unique board learning, development and placement programme which enables those who would like to serve on a public or third sector board to learn and gain experience … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1712,1713],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21314"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21318,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21314\/revisions\/21318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}