Kirstie is responsible for citizenship for Barclays UK with a particular focus on skills and business growth.
One of the key initiatives is the LifeSkills programme which she created and launched in 2013. The motivation behind the LifeSkills programme is to inspire millions of young people and equip them with the key skills to move forward into the 21st century work place. LifeSkills brings together educators, businesses, young people and parents to achieve this, as increasingly young people need to leave education not only with appropriate academic results but with the skills that we know businesses need now and in the future as technology reshapes our working world. Since launch, more than 6.5 million young people in the UK have already participated in the programme.
In addition to citizenship, Kirstie’s brief covers Consumer Affairs, managing Barclays’ engagement with consumer campaign groups such as Which?, Citizens Advice and Age UK on their priority issues for banking consumers. Through this engagement, she and her team work with colleagues across the bank to define Barclays’ strategy on issues such as financial inclusion, financial difficulty, accessibility and vulnerability customers to deliver tangible change for our customers.
Barclays has launched Thriving Local Economies, a five-year programme that aims to join forces with local authorities, academics, schools and business groups to boost local economic growth to ensure that every part of the UK can prosper. She is excited to be part of Business in the Community’s (BITC) Place Taskforce as it is a great opportunity to share learning from their programme and collaborate with others who are passionate about helping communities thrive.