How the 'Boardroom Apprentice' helped Lisburn man Robin Taylor make a difference

Hailing from Lisburn originally, Robin is an employee within the Department for the Economy, working within the Permanent Secretary’s office. Incentivised by a desire to “make a difference in the community”, Robin joined the Boardroom Apprenticeship scheme in August last year.

Founded in 2017 by Eileen Mullan, Boardroom Apprentice seeks to move the board member role from aspiration to reality.

For people wanting to make a tangible difference to their local or national community, Boardroom Apprentice enables individuals to learn and develop the necessary skills in a safe and well-supported environment.

With a passion for music, Robin knew going into the programme that he wanted to work on a board with a background in the arts.

“Music plays a major role in my life,” said Robin, who plays both percussion and the piano, and has prior experience as a member of a band.

It happened that Robin was placed with Arts Care, a charity based in Belfast. Founded in 1991, Art Care serves as the meeting point between art and healthcare. Through a variety of art projects, workshops and events, Arts Care aims to support the health and well-being of all its participants.Boardroom Apprentice pushed Robin harder than expected.

“In all honesty, the programme was much more than I expected,” said Robin, adding: “More work, but I also got much more out of it.”

Though perhaps challenging at times, Robin’s time with Arts Care helped him to develop skills vital to a position on a board in the public sector. But there’s a versatility to the skills learned, too.

“It definitely added several strings to my bow,” said Robin. “I've a much greater understanding of what Boards do, and can apply almost all of the learning to my day job as well.”

Robin’s experience as part of the Arts Care team left a great impression on him.“I learnt as an individual, but contributed as part of a team,” he said. “You'll get very close to your fellow team members, which was a great outcome.”Robin said he felt that the Boardroom Apprentice programme “embraces diversity” and “challenges stereotyping”.By ensuring diversity in its intake, work can be done to ensure that diversity increases across boards within the public sector.“The more diversity in the programme will hopefully lead to more diversity on boards, as each cohort applies to board positions,” he explained.As Robin’s time on the Arts Care board comes to an end, he reflected upon his experience there.“Arts Care have been absolutely fantastic at every stage of the programme,” he said."They were incredibly welcoming and included me in everything they've done. They're a fantastic organisation that are doing wonderful work in the community.“It is such a wonderful opportunity. I think it's a great developmental opportunity for anyone that can apply.”