ABOUT GILLIAN NEISH

Gillian Neish began her business career in personnel management with Marks and Spencer. Since 1988 she has run her own training consultancy working throughout the UK with private, public and voluntary sector organisations and individuals to help them fulfil their potential.

She specialises in ‘race’ and equity issues (in relation to management, staffing and service provision), in managing and valuing diversity, in personal development programmes and in training Trainers.

For the last ten years, for example, Gillian has worked closely with a number of local authorities facilitating ‘Race’ Equity courses for management and staff at all levels. In addition, she tailored courses especially for reception and administrative staff who are often the last to receive training yet are crucially important in creating an inclusive environment.

To ensure that greater numbers of staff have the opportunity to discuss and understand equity issues, Gillian has developed ‘Train the Trainer’ courses so that specifically selected staff can facilitate ‘race’ and equity issues training courses for their colleagues.

Gillian also works with Jane Elliott, the international facilitator and lecturer, who adapted the challenging Eye Colour discrimination exercise made famous in the training video ‘The Eye of the Storm’. As well as arranging conferences, with Jane presenting her ‘Anatomy of Prejudice’ Seminar, Gillian has developed and co-facilitates with Jane a development course for Trainers. Most recently she commissioned and co-produced Jane in the award winning video 'Eye Opener' and available with a selection of other titles.

Whilst many of Gillian’s courses are for men and women together, some are tailored for women only.

In 1991 she was selected to train as a Springboard trainer and became the first licensed trainer in Scotland of this award winning, international Programme. Since then she has run more than 60 Springboard Programmes and worked with more than 1500 women, including:

• In-house courses for a variety of organizations;
• Local authority funded courses for unemployed women, some of whom were returning to paid employment after caring for children and other relatives;
• Open Programmes, some of which have been sponsored by local enterprise companies;
• Programmes specifically for black and minority ethnic women who experience the effects of double discrimination.

In 1997 she became a licensed ‘Trainer of Springboard Trainers’ and works internationally. For example, in 2000 she co-tutored a two-week programme for senior women officers in the Indian Police enabling them to design and facilitate development courses for their junior colleagues. In 2004 she spent a month involved with a train the trainers programme in Kenya.

Gillian is also a licensed trainer of Spring Forward, the innovative development programme that uses creative methods to help participants to access their untapped potential. Spring Forward is aimed at middle management, either women only or men and women working together, and includes understanding gender issues in the workplace, the effects on individuals and the implications for organisations. It has proved a successful follow on programme for Springboard participants who want to continue their personal development.

Central to all Gillian’s work is her commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and to making equity a reality. Her approach is flexible in order to respond to each individual’s specific needs whilst working towards course objectives agreed with her clients. She creates an environment which encourages participants to acknowledge and challenge discrimination, value individual's different experiences, recognise and build on their strengths and take action towards fulfilling their potential. Courses are, therefore, practical and highly participative to enable participants to ‘try things out’ and develop their own style in a safe environment.

Gillian works with a few Associates who share her values and approach thus ensuring consistent, high quality courses.

Drawing on her 20 years practical experience of delivering training Gillian has more recently become involved in commissioning and co-producing a number of training videos as well as being able to offer a selection of Jane Elliott titles featuring the 'blue eyes - brown eyes' exercise in discrimination. The very latest release 'Racism - it's still happening' is described fully in DVDs and Videos for Sale