When 37-year-old Adriana Morvaiova arrived in Belfast International Airport from Slovakia along with her mother in 2005, they had no set plan or expectations of what their future in Northern Ireland would be like.
Armed with two suitcases and no ability to speak English, the mother-daughter pair were taken in by a friend who offered them somewhere to stay until they found their feet.
“I knew someone who moved to Antrim nine months prior and he said, listen girls, you can stay with me for a couple nights. But after that, you’re right on your own.” she explained.
Once settled and still unable to speak English, Adriana started her first job polishing cutlery in a local restaurant, a time period she believes helped carve out her intense drive and passion to give back to her local and wider community.
“I remember my very first job in a local restaurant and how inclusive the community was. They spent their time teaching me English and were continuously inviting me out on the weekends.”
“I was always helped and surrounded by the community and that has stayed with me for the years, and I thought that it was my time to give back to the community by volunteering and give my time to a cause that I care about.” she said.
With that special memory in mind, Adriana began working towards getting involved with the equality and peace building sector, something she was able to get to grips with thanks to her place on the 2019/20 Boardroom Apprentice programme.
“Through my successful application to the Boardroom Apprentice in 2019, I was placed with the Equality Commission for 12 months”.
Pausing her already successful career at global industrial technology company, Sensata Technologies, Adriana got the green light from her employer to grant time away from her role to complete the year-long programme.
Founded by Eileen Mullan in 2017, the Boardroom Apprentice is a unique board learning, development and placement programme which enables those who would like to serve on a public or third sector board to learn and gain experience in a safe way before they take that step.
Each candidate has to attend a number of set training days throughout the year on topics such as finance and governance and also complete a boardroom placement on a board of their choice, picked by both Eileen and a selection of former apprentices.
For Adriana, her time in the programme was somewhat life-changing as it gave her the increased confidence and self-belief that would help her reach lofty heights in her professional career.
“My life has improved significantly since the Boardroom Apprentice. I knew it was going to be a challenge and all my expectations were exceeded and met.
“It was an accelerator for me to understand, not just myself as a human, but what I wanted from my career or what I needed to do with my strengths and weaknesses. It changed me and gave me so much confidence.”
From budgeting to balance sheets, Adriana benefitted from the finance training aspect of the programme, something she previously had zero experience with.
“I had zero experience with finance and thanks to the training, I gained transferable skills which I was able to revert back to my employer and I now am able to work with budgets.” she said.
Whilst boosting her skillset, Adriana carried out her boardroom placement place on the Equality Commission board as an observer, a key part of the programme that helps individuals become board service ready when they leave.
Throughout her 12 months, she met individuals who helped shape her invaluable experience of overlooking a board that has an influence on society.
“I was assigned a boardroom buddy (Geraldine McGahey) who is now the chief commissioner and from the offset, they took me through proper training and onboarding and I learnt how cases are selected by the Equality Commission.
“I attended all the board meetings as an observer which means you can ask questions and contribute and you have an insight into everything from finance, strategy to social media engagement.”
When reflecting on her journey, it’s the long lasting effects of the Boardroom Apprentice programme that Adriana feels indebted to.
Shortly after the programme ended, she accepted her first board position with Mediation Northern Ireland charity with focused activities on conflict resolution and peace building.
“I am very confident that it’s all down to the Boardroom Apprentice. I have no formal education and no previous experience as I was working in admin for an engineering company at the time when I applied.
“I was able to use the Boardroom Apprentice learning on my application form and I believe that was the only reason why I had a chance to interview.
“That’s why I think the Boardroom Apprentice program should be more than just a government program. It should be acknowledged as an official piece of education.”
Not only does the programme help to change the course of an individual’s professional career, it seeks to enable a wider diversity of individuals within boardrooms across Northern Ireland and challenge preconceived stereotypes of the makeup of boardrooms.
“Through the Boardroom Apprentice, you quickly learn that diversity is more just the physical looks. We learned that diversity means age, education, background, experiences, neuro-diversity, disability, skin colour.
“The programme is extremely important because if you look at the current breakdown of boards, it’s quite homogenous, white and male orientated but the Boardroom Apprentice programme challenges this as it attracts people from all walks and backgrounds of life.”
Adriana’s message to those thinking of applying to the Boardroom Apprentice this year is one of encouragement, as she appeals to anyone to get involved as long as they understand the commitment and dedication it takes to complete.
“Before you apply, you have to understand that it requires commitment, time and effort to do this. So you need to make sure you are fully committed and have a very strong internal why.”
“This programme can be beneficial for not just you as a person, but everybody around you. When you become a better person, you’re serving your community and your employer is getting a better version of you.”
“It’s probably the best thing I did for myself and it will change you as a human. You will definitely become a better person by the end of that programme.”
Applications for Boardroom Apprentice are open until May 24, 2022.