About Reach

This blog is a part of the Reach project, developing an interactive online community providing inspiration and support to students who feel that they face some kind of barrier* to getting where they want to be when they graduate.

The Reach site is now live - find it here:

http://reach.thecareersgroup.co.uk

*What are barriers?

As we develop Reach we don’t have specific target groups in mind, barriers are very individual and can often involve a combination of factors relating to that person, their experiences and the career they are pursuing. Some examples of barriers would be disability, ethnic background, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, physical and mental health, caring commitments, and educational background; however this is definitely not a closed list! Please leave us a comment if you feel we are neglecting any particular issues.

About the blog

The blog is one of the first elements of the Reach project to be up and running, and we will continue to regularly post useful events, services, resources as well as some thought-provoking entries relating to diversity at work.

One goal of ours is to bring discussion about diversity into the open to increase awareness and understanding, and so help break the taboos that perpetuate these barriers. We are committed to exploring our own ideas openly too, so we may sometimes use this blog to post from our own personal perspectives. Please do not take all that we write in this vein to be the final, agreed view of The Careers Group, University of London. If you think we are wrong, please do comment, question and disagree with our posts as appropriate!

About the authors

Anna Colls – Careers adviser

Anna Colls - Careers Adviser

Anna Colls is a careers adviser at UCL and St Mary’s University College, and has been with The Careers Group, University of London for four years. Anna is leading work on the Reach project.

She has previously worked in PR for charities and arts organisations, as well as on the strategy team of The National Trust.

Outside of work Anna is a keen sailor, and has even sailed across the Atlantic!

Helen Curry – Information Officer

Helen Curry - Information Officer

Helen Curry is the information officer with responsibility for online resources at The Careers Group, University of London (to give her full title). She is helping develop interactive and multimedia aspects of the Reach project.

Prior to joining The Careers Group, Helen trained as a librarian, and has also worked in civil service administration.

Outside of work, Helen likes to spread her time around between yoga, Wii, running and crochet.