Hospice CEO awarded Fellowship Diploma

• 12 April 2024

To help ‘every moment count’ for patients and their families at the Charity, all staff and volunteers live by the Charity’s values: caring, compassionate, community and excellence. CEO, Sharon Allen, OBE was recognised recently, for modelling this from the top, when she was awarded a City and Guilds of London Institute Fellowship Diploma.

Faiza Khan MBE, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Foundation, City & Guilds shared:

“Fellowship of the City and Guilds of London Institute is a prestigious honour, the highest that can be conferred by the Institute. It recognises individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional and personal achievements in the worlds of industry and craft.

Sharon is a highly respected leader in the field of social care, health and community support. She has championed the importance of learning and skills development across the sector.

With over 30 years of experience in both the voluntary and statutory sectors, Sharon led the development, for the body responsible for over one and half million social care workforce in England.  Sharon made the conscious decision to move from a national role back to leading a service provider in her local community.

During her career she has championed the interests of low paid practitioners, emphasising that low pay does not equate with low skills. Her support for apprenticeships, appropriate on-boarding and regulation of professionals has been exemplary.

For her commitment to skills development in a societally critical sector, Council is honoured to confer the Fellowship of the City and Guilds of London Institute on Sharon Allen.”

Sharon was one of six recipients of the Fellowship Diploma at Plaisterers’ Hall in the heart of the City of London at the 145^th Yearly Meeting of the City and Guilds of London Institute.  TV Presenter Jay Blades MBE, Vice President, City & Guilds, also received his honour at the meeting.

Faiza continued:

“All six individuals receiving their honours at the meeting are worthy and impressive advocates of skills – and truly exemplify how skills can change lives.

Fellows help to contribute to City & Guilds’ success by acting as ambassadors and offering their knowledge and expertise. Fellows also become voting members of the City and Guilds of London Institute so this knowledge can have impact and guidance more directly.”  

Sharon added:

“Having left school at 16, finding social work in my early twenties and qualifying as a social worker, later gaining both a degree and an MBA and, more recently, qualifying as a coach, I am a living testament to the City & Guilds mantra; ‘Skills change lives’.

As I joined the panel on stage after receiving my honour from Chair, Dame Ann Limb, I was pleased to share two brief examples from my experience about how skills have impacted those I have worked with too, as sharing learning as we go is so important:  

In my first CEO role, when I joined a large voluntary sector and supported housing organisation, I was doing introductory meetings with colleagues. During a break, I was approached by a colleague, (whom I’ll call Fran) who reminded me that, years before, she had come into the Women’s Aid refuge where I worked at the time.

When she arrived at the refuge with her three small children, having fled a violent partner, Fran had been scared, shattered and had no confidence. By the time she moved into her new home, her confidence rebuilt, she told me she was going back to college to forge a career so that she could provide for her family.

Some 10 years later, she had qualified as a nurse and was now working in one of the nursing care the organisation managed. I was thrilled to see her transformation.

Also, a more recent example:

“A couple of weeks ago I received an unexpected bouquet of flowers at the Hospice. The card was from someone I had provided executive coaching for (my most recent qualification in 2017 was a coaching diploma and I now offer coaching with the fees going to Arthur Rank Hospice Charity). In the card she had written:

“Just a quick note to say that I will always credit our coaching sessions with being the spur I needed to make a change in my work life. You allowed me to see that I couldn’t stay stuck feeling the way I was. Three years later, I have just qualified as a Social Worker”.

Sharon concluded:

“I am so grateful to those who nominated me for this prestigious award. It was a privilege to be on a platform with all these other Fellows, each with a great story of achievement despite many hurdles in our collective way.”

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If you would like to work for Arthur Rank Hospice Charity please visit the vacancies page: https://careers.arhc.org.uk/