There is no business without inclusivity, really. This week’s Oscar’s show put event accessibility in the stolen spotlight. This week in digital, accessibility news is showing some of the same star power.

Texthelp, has appointed Cathy Donnelly as its Chief People Officer. Prior to joining her previous company, Liberty IT, Donnelly was the HR Manager for IKEA UK and Ireland.

At Texthelp Donnelly will be focused on developing a globally inclusive community that recognizes and celebrates diversity.

“I am thrilled to take on my role at Texthelp and am excited to be joining such a purpose-driven organization which is making a difference to the lives of so many people around the world,” said Donnelly. “From an HR perspective, it’s the perfect time to join following our recent acquisitions as we move towards building a global culture and community of Texthelpers.”

Press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/texthelp-names-cathy-donnelly-as-chief-people-officer-301512136.html

Events really do promote learning and awareness among young people. That’s what the results of BIMA’s survey about its Digital Day show. The event, held last November, was geared toward tweens and teens to increase their awareness of digital skills and job opportunities.  The UK trade body’s survey — conducted by Opinium — was designed to help BIMA understand the views of students towards careers within the digital industry. Opinium asked more than 1,200 students aged 10-19 for their thoughts.  

Key findings include:  

• Students want to learn more digital skills and want to do things like join a coding club (54%) and take part in online learning for different digital skills (47%)  
• 80% of students say they would be interested in a career in the digital industry following what they’ve learned from Digital Day.
• Student awareness of career opportunities within the digital industry increased after Digital Day—jumping from 20% before Digital Day to 65% after the event.   

The research will be used to help BIMA better understand how students feel about the industry, the classes, and skills that schools could be providing, and how best to appeal to students in the future.  

 “It is clear from these results that Digital Day has a profound impact on students and their interest in learning digital skills as well as their awareness of careers in digital,” said Matt Sullivan, Managing Director of BIMA. “It remains up to us in the sector to work with schools and local authorities to ensure more opportunities are made available to students as the survey shows there is a hunger for more.”  

More information: https://resources.bima.co.uk/bima-reports

Sherpa has hired Sam Batstone as the agency’s newly appointed Client Services Director. She joins Channel Growth Executive, Shiv Sharma and Account Executive, Eshita Shah. In her new role Batstone will lead and manage all operations for the agency.

Sharma will be working in the business development team, reporting into the agency’s Channel Growth Specialist Carolyn Wakeling. Shah will work on the client services team, with a specific focus on accounts that deliver incentives, MDF and communications solutions to Sherpa’s roster of global tech Partners.

“The agency is going from strength to strength at the moment and having another three amazing team members join Sherpa is really encouraging,” said Tom Perry, CEO and Founder of Sherpa. “Hiring people who have a genuine passion for what we offer is really great to see and bolstering our senior team with the hire of Sam is another great step towards our ambitious growth targets.”

More information: https://www.thesherpagroup.com/blog

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Kate Baggott is a former Managing Editor of B2BNN. Her technology and business journalism has appeared in the Technology Review, the Globe and Mail, Canada Computes, the Vancouver Sun and the Bay Street Bull. She is the author of the short story collections Love from Planet Wine Cooler and Dry Stories. Find links to recent articles by following her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-baggott-9a0306/

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