Where are you from?

I have lived in the Tyne Valley, to the west of Newcastle, all my life.

What is your role at Diversity NE?

Employment Adviser

How long have you worked for Azure?

I first joined Azure in 1997 on a four month contract and then stayed until 2004 in a number of different positions. After an 18 year gap I returned to Azure towards the end of 2022, before joining the DiversityNE project in January 2023.

What is your career history?

I have a varied work background, starting in Geotechnical and Civil Engineering. During this time, I was also an active member of the Territorial Army and took part in several exercises in Germany.

I have approximately 11 years experience supporting people with disabilities, seven of those supporting individuals in employment and four in connection with the housing and independent living sector. It was also an honour to be chosen by a previous employer to go to Wisconsin, USA in 2004 where I travelled around the State visiting various disability organisations and their projects as well as meeting some of their senators at the State Capitol building and learning about their approach to supporting people with disabilities.

Then, more recently, I also have 12 years experience of being self-employed.

Can you share a career highlight?

Having had a part-time weekend and holiday job whilst still at school for three years. I finished at High School and went into the world of full-time employment. Little did I know that my three years' previous experience would see me running the soil testing laboratory from my first day in employment straight from school.

So, from personal experience I can say that none of us knows what might be around the corner in the world of work.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Seeing people grow within themselves, gaining in confidence and achieving things that they did not think they were capable of doing.

Why did you want to be involved with Diversity NE? 

It was an opportunity to return to support and work directly alongside people on a one-to-one basis to help them to work towards, and to achieve their goals.

Click here to contact Philip by email