A national initiative which gives aspiring directors the experience of life around the boardroom table is being extended to Guernsey.
Board Apprentice, which is run by a group of people who sit on various boards and have extensive experience around the boardroom tables of listed and unlisted companies, was founded to help educate and train future board members and widen and diversify the pool of board-ready individuals.
"As today’s leaders and the leaders of the companies on whose boards we serve, we felt that we should be taking the initiative in focusing on succession planning by nurturing directors of the future and solving the diversity issues at hand," said Charlotte Valeur (pictured), who founded Board Apprentice.
The GTA University Centre has been appointed as executive ambassador and administrator of the scheme in Guernsey. As part of the Guernsey Selection Group it will oversee the selection process to ensure that apprentices have the necessary insight into corporate governance and board operation and have suitable experience and background. They then match individuals to companies who volunteer to be involved.
Board apprentices will be appointed for a year and will commit to the duties of board members including reading board packs and attending meetings; however they will not contribute in any way to the decision-making process. They are also expected to attend Annual General Meetings (if applicable) and other board-related activities which take place outside of scheduled board meetings. The apprentice may be assigned to a board in the UK, Jersey or Guernsey and will cover all their own expenses.
The initiative launches on 23 March and more information is available from Liesel Lindsay, GTA University Centre programmes manager, by emailing liesel.lindsay@gta.gg