Picture shows Mercedes Grant and Liz Sewell at the ERSA National Awards where Belina was highly commended for its innovative work with parents.
Liz Sewell FIEP
Director, Programme Designer and Lead Trainer
Liz Sewell FIEP has over twenty years’ experience in delivering employability training and training the trainers programmes. As founder and director of Belina, Liz developed the confidence and motivation employability courses Take three days, Get Confident to Work, Parent’s Job Club and Get Ready for Work, used as specialist support services by Primes on the Work Programme, Troubled Families and FND.
Liz’s expertise is in supporting individuals to embrace and implement change, building confidence and motivation. Her behavioural insights-based programmes were the first be endorsed by the Institute of Employability Professionals and Belina was highly commended for developing ‘Innovative Training Programmes’ at the 2014 National Employment Related Services Awards.
A former Director of lone parent charity Gingerbread, Liz has a wealth of experience working with, and understanding the challenges faced, by people who are furthest from the labour market. Liz is also a Fellow and former Director of the Institute of Employability Professionals and is passionate about professionalising the employability sector and creating a thriving, energetic and creative frontline of professionals who are equipped with the knowledge and skills to help support people into good, sustainable employment.
Liz named Belina after her two daughters, Isabelle and Nina, as she wanted to give her customers the quality of advice that she would like her own children to receive. Belina celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and through its substantial employment programmes is empowering, inspiring and changing women’s lives across London.
Mercedes Grant
Development Director and Senior Facilitator
Joining Belina in 2013 as Development Director Mercedes was instrumental in developing the GRoW Programme together with Liz Sewell, Director. She assists in the development of the business through the engagement of new clients, partners, networks and support groups and in the delivery of Belina’s training programmes as Senior Facilitator.
Mercedes has an extraordinary set of skills and experience gained over many years from a diverse range of employments including banking, call centre operations, hairdressing and beauty therapy to training in Linguistic Programming, as an Early Years Teacher and as a Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist.
In addition to her role at Belina, Mercedes is also a trained nutritional therapist and runs her own pregnancy massage business, promoting women’s health and wellbeing.
She is passionate about motivating and inspiring women to ‘get out there’ and champions the belief that if you help women find their confidence that they can do anything. Through her work at Belina she is proud to have been able to facilitate many women into a range of employments and helping them realise their own true potential.
Cat Lynch
Responsible for Programme Delivery and Parent Engagement
Cat joined Belina Consulting in August 2016 and works across two London-based community projects – Building Better Opportunities, a Lottery funded training programme focused on helping women from ethnic minorities into sustainable employment and an ESF funded project specialising in assisting economically inactive wormen into sustainable roles. Both projects benefit from Belina’s flagship self-awareness programme Get Ready for Work (GRoW) which brings women and, particularly lone-parents, together for motivational peer-to-peer group training to help them take ownership of their lives.
Cat brings her many skills and talents to Belina from a background in supply chain management, employment, education and welfare gained in senior positions within industry organisations including Maximus, A4E and Skills Training UK Ltd. She has in-depth knowledge and experience of supporting the hardest to help in society with continuous education and the development of bespoke customer journeys that leads to people achieving their long-term career goals.
On a personal level Cat has first-hand knowledge and experience of some of the challenges that lone parents can face, particularly when seeking sustainable and suitable employment, which enables her to fulfil her role with empathy and understanding whilst championing the contribution women make to the world of employment.
Christine Brown
Strategy and Adviser Training
Christine works in partnership with Belina to deliver adviser training. Christine is Director of Future Excel, a Fellow of the Institute of Employability Professionals and a former director of employability organisation Dudley Futureskills.
Georgia Scotland
Consultant Facilitator
Over 20 years experience in supporting people into work, including eight working directly with parents. Trained to deliver Belina’s programmes and skilled in engaging parents and moving them forward.
Advisory Group
Supporting Team
Rachael Inns, Altmore Children’s Centre, Gosia Banach, Masbro Urban Partnership, Rose Alphonse, Uxbridge College Children’s Centre.
We help women get back to work 