Lauren Jackson now joins our team to help with the day-to-day tasks of running the Foundation, and we are delighted to have her on board. As the Foundation’s workload has increased over the last year, Lauren is a welcomed addition to the team.

Lauren was initially taken on last year as part of the Sumer Scheme, where she spent one week working alongside Lauren Bywater, who is the Coordinator at High Tide. It was during this week that was eager to learn more about careers in the charity sector, and she showed excellent enthusiasm throughout her time at the Foundation.

Here’s what Lauren had to say about her work experience with High Tide:

“I heard about the High Tide Summer Scheme from my Work Experience Co-Ordinator, Sue Copeland, who told me that if I applied then it would help me get experience and gain skills needed for a future job, as the scheme included being put on two weeks’ worth of placements. I applied to the Summer Scheme (after much persuasion from my mentor Anne Quinn!) as I realised that it would give me an insight into the world of work even though I had no clue what job I wanted to do.”

“The work experience was surprisingly fun. For the first week of my placement I went to London for 2 days on a law placement, learning about maritime law, which was really interesting and completely opened my mind to different types of law. Before I only really knew about criminal and civil law.”

“On my second week of placement, I worked with Lauren Bywater who is the charity coordinator of High Tide. She gave me the opportunity to work alongside her as I previously used to volunteer in Age UK and didn’t really think there were any paid jobs within a charity. Again this experience opened my mind as the running of a charity is totally different to what I thought it would be. I worked in the office doing administration tasks, attended various meetings, went on river trips, and got tours around the ports. No 2 days were the same, which is why I loved the week so much! On the last day of the work experience placement, Lauren surprised me with the offer of being a High Tide apprentice! I was really happy and grateful as I didn’t think I would be good enough to be offered the place. I’m looking forward to spending the next 2 years with High Tide and to see what the future brings.”

Coordinator of the High Tide Foundation, Lauren Bywater was overjoyed at how keen Lauren was and knew that she was the perfect fit for the apprentice role that was available within the charity.

“This year was the first year we have been in a position to offer work experience. On meeting Lauren I really wanted to show her another side to a career in the charity sector, as she had previous experience in a charity store. After working with Lauren she was very keen, reliable and enthusiastic.

“At the time we were looking for an apprentice and after such a great placement from Lauren we made the decision to offer her an apprenticeship with The High Tide Foundation. Lauren started her role this week and is already fitting in perfectly!”

If you’re wondering how you can get on board with High Tide Foundation and our many programmes and schemes, including apprenticeships, visit ‘Our Programmes’ page. You can also contact Lauren Bywater, our General Manager, on 07834176945 or email info@hightidefoundation.co.uk.