GC Employee appointed as Member of the Board of Directors at ERSA

We’re pleased to announce that Naomi Ilagoswa, Head of Strategic Relationships and External Partnerships for GC Employment, has recently been appointed as a Member of the Board of Directors at the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA). 

Naomi, who has played an integral part in the delivery of GC’s employment services and contracts for over 13 years, will be taking on this new challenge alongside her existing role.  

ERSA is committed to giving a voice to the employment support sector, campaigning for high-quality services for jobseekers and low-earners across the UK. The organisation supports businesses like the Growth Company who work within the skills, justice, and youth space to influence policy, share best practice and look at ways to strengthen the sector.  

Speaking of her reasons for wanting to seek Board Directorship with ERSA, Naomi said: “During my career, I’ve seen the sector really change, develop and grow. I’m keen to help the sector develop further and want to be able to influence policy. Having worked in the sector for a long time, I've seen lots of different programmes come and go, and it would be great to use some of that knowledge to shape the future. I also want to support and encourage more diversity within employment support organisations, and help ERSA and its members to showcase the additional work they do to enhance social value and societal impact.” 

Naomi’s new venture will complement and enhance her current role at GC, and she’s already thinking of ways in which she can utilise her existing skillset. “I lead on stakeholder engagement for GC Employment, so that is something I can definitely bring to the role”, Naomi said. “I also think it’s about being able to use our experience as an organisation, which is quite unique in the sense that we are a prime contractor, an alliance partnership and a not-for-profit social enterprise. We also subcontract and deliver devolved contracts. It’s important to be able to share that voice amongst some of the other organisations who work within the sector. We’ve got a long and proven history in Greater Manchester and the North, so I can bring a lot of that expertise to the table.”  

Her role on the Board of Directors will involve helping to shape the ERSA strategy and priorities. She’ll also be driving member engagement and assisting in getting new members on board. It’s also likely that Naomi will be involved in working groups designed to share knowledge and influence policy.  

She’s excited to bring her skills, experience and passions to the role. Naomi said: “I'm really passionate about supporting people to achieve their potential. I think the groups of people that the sector and ERSA members support to move forward are often those that are vilified by society – such as people on probation, people who claim benefits or who are long-term unemployed. I’m really keen to help people to unleash their potential and ensure that nobody gets left behind.”  

Naomi added: “It’s about the government listening to those voices and developing future programmes that target these demographics within society. Diversity and Inclusion is very important to me. For example, how can we really influence employers to change their recruitment strategies, so they consider the people we work with - such as people on probation, disabled people and people who are long-term unemployed - as a talent pool? Particularly in today’s labour market, organisations are wrestling to fill vacancies, and taking this approach could help them to bridge skills gaps and diversify their workforce.”  

The Growth Company was highly supportive of Naomi’s decision to take on the role. She is looking forward to her first Board meeting and is excited to start delivering the role. “I think it will be a great challenge”, she said. “It’s something I’ve not done before; however, it perfectly aligns with my role as Head of Strategic Relationships and External Partnerships here at the Growth Company. I think it will really add to my skillset and give me some new knowledge about the way policy works – something which will be really interesting and useful for my role.”  

We wish Naomi all the best with her new appointment, and we’re looking forward to seeing her flourish in the role.  

You can find out more about GC Employment and the services they provide here