Left Clare Wright, MBE, PA to the Principal at Warwickshire College
THREE LITTLE WORDS
Could three little words really make a big difference to your CV? Executive PA Magazine speaks to three MBEs to find out BY JOANNA CHRISTIE
12 »
www.executivepa.com » Aug/Sept 2010
When the Queen’s Birthday Honours List was released in June, newspapers across the country printed endless pictures of Catherine Zeta Jones, who picked up a CBE for her contribution to the film industry and to charity work. Other prominent figures who were given honours were similarly featured across media outlets, but one name many of us may have missed is that of Barbara Westwood, PA to the Chief Executive at Ufi/learndirect. Barbara was appointed MBE this year for services to further education after working for many years as a PA within the sector. Barbara says she was “over the moon” at receiving the accolade and is looking forward to visit- ing Buckingham Palace later this year to collect the award. “I am very excited and my daughter is very excit- ed about coming with me. I have decided however, that I must be careful not to trip up as I don’t want to be videoed falling backwards.” Barbara began her career in 1980 as personal secre- tary to the Director of Employment at the Manpower Services Commission. She has since held roles in various education departments in the civil services and universi- ties and has been in her current role for 11 years. “I always saw my future as a PA. Some of the graduates coming through now view the job just as a stepping stone to their future. But I viewed being a PA as a profession in its own right and I still do and it is a very satisfying one. You get to see how companies work and you see it from the top if you’re working from the top of the organisa- tion. Not very many people are fortunate enough to get that view of an organisation.”
Endless enthusiasm Barbara isn’t sure who nominated her for the MBE, but with her enthusiasm for the job, it’s easy to see how she came to the attention of the Cabinet Office. “We just had one of our learndirect achievement awards and it was one of the most moving experiences. You see people who’ve been frightened off from education, they have had a very bad experience with it in the past and dropped out. But because you can learn at any place with our sys- tem, people are taking it up again and seeing their lives get back on track. It really is very moving to see people actually grasp and take up education again, that is what I gain from what I do.”
Since the nomination procedure for honours was opened up to the public in 1993, anyone has been able to nominate someone they feel has made a significant contri- bution in their field of work or in their community. Proposals then progress through a series of expert commit- tees, which will determine whether or not the candidate is a suitable recipient, and what type of honour they should
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48