Gemstone Girl – Jewellery Making Relieves Stress
A couple of years before I retired, I was off work on long-term sick leave with stress. I was getting bored at home because I didn’t feel well enough to go out or do much. Quite by chance I got into making jewellery.
Sally, deciding what to study at university
When I was in primary school I always struggled in English class, particularly in spelling. My father made me learn how to spell ten new words every week and I hated it so much I would cry down the phone when he was testing me.
The Importance of Mentors
I had been “pushing” for an international assignment for several years. I say “pushing” because I was not completely committed to the idea – maybe 85%. The lacking 15% was due to my fears and apprehensions. I wanted someone to tell me those fears were not valid, I had nothing to worry about.
Rachel – From Adversity comes Opportunity
Two weeks into the lockdown I wrote a blog reflecting on how working from home had changed my working week dramatically. On the one hand, it had really brought out the best in our people.
My Experience of Soft Skills in the Workplace
After a 40 year career plus an MBA, I know much about business models and theories. As an Asian man, I have built my career on technical expertise, and thrown myself 100% into advancing that skill set. Part of me always scoffed when reading articles about Emotional Intelligence at work.
My Dad invented English Wine Week
It was around 1995. I had a friend with a vineyard, the late Charles Cunningham and he couldn’t sell his wine, because he had no passing trade. Camel Valley, on the other hand, situated in a busy tourist area, had lots of visitors.
Engineer Like A “Girl”
When I started working I got a lot of projects that required little to no physical work. They gave me projects that were “easy” and didn’t require heavy machinery.
Summer Work Experience – A City Boy Moves to Devon
A few summers ago I moved away from home. It’s not a crazy or troubling story by any means but it was a couple of months which displaced me from my comfort zone and ended up changing the way I make decisions.
Zara – Suspension Story
It was Thursday evening, 8pm and the link worker and I finally left the clients house because I now felt satisfied the baby would come to no harm, having consulted with various agencies. (We usually finish work at 5pm. The link worker was excellent.)
Kim at the University of Warwick, being a female engineer
The state college I attended had thousands of students from all over the county. Each class consisted of about 25-30 students. The subjects I sat had no more than five girls.