46-year-old Management Consultant, Jo McGinley never could have imagined the impact Boardroom Apprentice would have on her life when she first heard about it while she was swimming in the sea with a friend and former Boardroom Apprentice.
From transforming her confidence to introducing her to a new world of support, the programme opened up doors she never knew existed before.
Originally from the Northwest, Jo McGinley now lives in Bangor and works for PwC in Belfast as the Chief of Staff for the head of the region in Northern Ireland.
Despite having a successful professional career in the private sector, in 2020, Jo has found herself wanting to do something different in her life.
“I was at a bit of a crossroads in my life. I have three young kids and my kids and as they were getting a little older, I started to consider what else I could do for myself over and above work and family. I genuinely wanted to do something different.” she said.
Having received tremendous support from third sector organisations and the public sector since becoming a parent, joining a board where she could give back to the community and share her lived experiences seemed like the perfect opportunity.
“I wanted to give something back and show appreciation for the absolutely amazing support that we received as a family from the third and public sector. When I heard about the Boardroom Apprentice programme from my friend, I had a bit of a ‘lightbulb’ moment and thought that it sounded just like the type of thing that I was looking for.”
Before applying and going through the Boardroom Apprentice Programme, Jo had shared the common misconceptions of what a typical boardroom looked like.
“When I thought about boards, I imagined them to be something that’s really unreachable and something that is almost untouchable. I suppose my impression was that you went to a board when you retired. You go to a board if you’re really senior in an organisation and only when you reach a certain age or stage in your career. I never thought that someone like me could get on a board.
“I’d seen this thing as totally unreachable. And even if it wasn’t, then why me? What have I got to offer? I’m not the right age and probably not the right sex. I don’t have the right experience. I don’t have the right connections.” she explained.
However, through her experience as Boardroom Apprentice Jo realised everybody has got some lived experience that can give valuable insight to any board.
“Boardroom Apprentice made me realise that as long as you’ve got the right motivations and you’ve got the right intent and you are genuinely motivated by giving something back, absolutely anybody can be on a board.”
Jo went through the application process and joined the 2020 cohort of the Boardroom Apprentices. Due to the pandemic, her journey was completely remote with only a few face to face meetings, but that did not take away from her experience.
Throughout the 12-month programme, apprentices go through a rigorous training process and have the opportunity to sit on a board, contribute to the decision making process and learn in real time what being a board member entails.
Coming from a private sector organisation Jo was used to good quality training, but the training she has received as part of the programme has surpassed all her expectations.
“I genuinely did not expect the quality of the experience and the learning.” she said, adding: “I totally wrongly thought, oh, it’s free training. We’ll see what it’s like. How wrong I was… it was top class training delivered by engaging, inspirational and motivational trainers.”
Fortunately, the training has been put to use when it comes to joining the host boards, in Jo’s case the Orchardville Society, an organisation that works with young people to support them in employment and life skills.
“I’ve gained a huge amount of confidence from the learning days and was able to apply that learning immediately at Orchardville. Being able to sit as an apprentice on a host board also demystified some of the mystique of what happens within a board because you were sitting there and actively involved in discussions and debates. Where else could you gain the experience of sitting shoulder to shoulder with board members in a safe and supportive environment?
“And that experiential learning throughout the year was just phenomenal. I learned so much having that unlimited access to committees, boards and decision making. I had a boardroom buddy whom I could ask the silliest questions and they were able to support me in navigating the board processes and governance. It was genuinely one of the best learning experiences of my career.”
Armed with the new skills and her experience of participating on a board Jo has successfully moved on to a board position at Groundwork NI, but admits that she wouldn’t have had the courage to apply if it weren’t for her participation in the Boardroom Apprentice.
“I’m a non-executive director on the board of Groundwork NI. I sit on two of their committees. So I sit on their business and development committee and I sit on their finance and personnel committee.
“Every session that we have, the learning and experience that I’ve had from the Boardroom Apprentice surfaces, there’s how you ask questions, how you listen, how you engage, how you interpret the papers that you get in advance and even just the environment, the whole ecosystem in which this organisation is operating. I would never ever have known that before that.”
Not only has she learned invaluable skills throughout the 12 months, but Jo was also able to find a real network of support as they progressed in their boardroom journey and beyond.
“Each Boardroom Apprentice was placed within a smaller group of apprentices to work on a project. I have made some lifelong connections as a result of that and each of us continue to learn from one another as we progress on with our individual boardroom journeys. This lifelong network of support will never go away and is massively beneficial too.”
“Boardroom Apprentice has fundamentally changed me. From the training I’ve completed, the people that I have met and the Board that I have worked with… I’m transformed as a person. It has opened up a world that I knew very little about and I didn’t even know how to enter.
“Without the programme, I genuinely would not have put the pen to paper on a NED application. I would have had the desire, but I wouldn’t have had the confidence, I wouldn’t have had the experience and I wouldn’t have had the skills that I know that they were looking for.”
“So the advice that I’d give anyone who is thinking of going for the Boardroom Apprentice programme is to do it! If you have any inkling or have any desire to give something back and to participate in our community in the broadest way, and you believe that you’ve got that motivation and can make that commitment, then just do it.”
Applications for Boardroom Apprentice are open until May 24, 2022.