Easyjet founder announces disability awards shortlist

  • Five finalists handpicked by Sir Stelios each win £10,000
  • Companies on the shortlist are Mobiloo, MentalSnapp, Evenbreak, Review My Wheelchair and Katherine Fortnum Ceramics.
  • Winner will win a further £20,000 at an award ceremony on 14 November 2017

EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and leading international charity Leonard Cheshire Disability announced today the five finalists for the Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs 2017. Each has won £10,000 and now has a chance to win a further £20,000.

More than 70 candidates – a record entry – applied for the Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs this year. The applications came from diverse business arenas, including fashion, retail, sport and leisure and tourism.

The five finalists are:

Jane Hatton of London, founder of Evenbreak (www.evenbreak.co.uk), an accessible specialist online job board where inclusive employers can attract more talented disabled talent and disabled jobseekers can find work with employers who will value their skills. 

Hannah Chamberlain of London, co-founder of Mental Snapp (www.mentalsnapp.com), a video diary app to help anyone actively managing their mental health.

James Brown of Wiltshire, founder of Mobiloo (www.mobiloo.org.uk) , the world’s first attended mobile toilet and changing facility for disabled people who need a hoist and changing table to use the toilet or be changed.

Dominic Lund-Conlon of Essex, founder of Review My Wheelchair (www.reviewmywheelchair.co.uk), which provides unbiased and clear reviews for wheelchair users to support their decision when purchasing a wheelchair.

Katherine Fortnum of Leicestershire, founder of Katherine Fortnum Ceramics (www.katherinefortnumceramics.com) , a producer of hand built ceramic homewares and decorative sculptures.

The overall winner will win £30,000 and an additional 4 shortlisted applicants will each get £10,000.

The award is jointly run by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation (www.stelios.com) and the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability, (www.LeonardCheshire.org). Started 11 years ago, it recognises the achievements of disabled entrepreneurs in the UK.

Past winners have been drawn from the travel agency, building and IT sectors as well as businesses specialising in disability/mobility aids and services. The winner will be announced on Thursday 14 November 2017

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Want to join the £100K club? Being male will help

  • 86% of employees bringing in over £100k are men

  • 23% of £100k earners have no degree, but management experience is a must

  • Almost 60% of £100k club have experience in IT, Finance or Sales

Male university-educated employees with over a decade of management experience within IT, Sales or Finance stand the best chance of joining the £100k club, according to recent research by jobs search engine Adzuna.

The study analysed the skills and experience contained in over 10,000 CVs earning a salary of £100,000 or more (before tax) uploaded to Adzuna’s ValueMyCV tool.

Every CV studied contained substantial experience, with the average CV of high earners detailing 19 years of experience. And to climb the pay scale you’ll need to take control of much more than just your own career, as the average top end earner has racked up 13 years of management responsibilities.

Meanwhile a mere 14% of Britain’s top-earning CV’s belong to female workers, making the £100k club resemble something of a Gentleman’s Club.The low figures come on the back of a survey conducted by Adzuna, which showed men in the workplace were more likely to ask for a payrise and promotion.

Doug Monro, Adzuna cofounder commented: “The UK gender pay gap may be at its lowest ever level, but our study shows men still account for a starkly unequal share of high earners.

“While the government’s recent ruling that large employers publish their gender pay gap will go some way to combatting this, predictions suggest the gap will take 70 years to close. It’s clear there’s plenty of work to be done to ensure pay parity at both ends of the scale.”

Degrees Not Always Necessary For Higher Pay Grade

Qualifications played less of a central role to top earning potential than gender, with just under a quarter (23%) of top ranking employees not holding a degree.

Those without a degree had worked longer to join the £100k club, however, spending on average 22 years in employment, compared to the 18 years worked by their university-educated counterparts.

IT and Finance Lead Way For Top Earners

Workers in the IT industry were the most common among the sample of £100k CVs, with those in Finance and Consultancy not far behind.

The top job titles for £100k earners features several director titles, while CEOs rounded out the top 5. Less common job titles among the selection of £100k earners included procurement directors, security analysts and communication officers.

Sectors With Largest Share of £100k Earners

Sector

Share of 100k Club

IT

19%

Finance

19%

Consultancy

12%

Engineering

5%

Sales

5%

 

Top 5 Job Titles of £100k Earners

1

Managing Director

2

Director

3

Operations Director

4

Finance Director

5

CEO

 

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