Sharon Marcia Blyfield OBE is a British marketing executive and human resources expert. She has championed early career development at The Coca-Cola Company. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2022.
Sharon Blyfield | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sharon Blyfield speaking at WorldSkills UK in 2019 | |
| Born | Sharon Marcia Blyfield December 1966 (age 57)[1] |
| Education | Burlington Danes Academy Hammersmith and West London College |
| Employer(s) | The Coca-Cola Company Cadbury |
Early life and education
editBlyfield is from Shepards Bush, West London.[2] She has two brothers. She attended Burlington Danes Academy[3] a voluntary aided school, and was determined to get a job that would mean her mother did not have to worry about money.[2] She completed a BTEC Extended Diploma in business and finance whilst studying at Hammersmith and West London College. After completing her course, she was offered a job in financial administration.[2][4][5]
Career
editBlyfield worked in advertising, holding positions at Cadbury and The Coca-Cola Company. At the time, Coca-Cola was expanding into the UK economy, and Blyfield was involved with scaling up their advertising programmes. She eventually shifted to human resources, with a particular focus on the development of early career employees. [citation needed]
Under Blyfield's leadership, Coca-Cola expanded their apprenticeship scheme to include engineering, sales and administration.[2] To improve access to the scheme; she modified the GCSE requirements, and removed the requirement for a CV.[2] She has developed mentorship and training programmes to support apprentices throughout their careers.[6]
Blyfield has campaigned to make apprenticeships more commonplace in the UK.[7] She has also spoken about the need to increase the salaries of apprentices.[2][8] In 2023, Blyfield was appointed Director of the Board of Youth Employment UK.[9]
Awards and honours
editBlyfield was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ "Sharon Marcia BLYFIELD". gov.uk. London: Companies House.
- ^ a b c d e f "Sharon Blyfield, head of early careers, Coca-Cola". feweek.co.uk. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ Pender, Sophie (2023). "What School Did You Go To? Episode 4 Sharon Blyfield OBE: Coca-Cola". spotify.com.
- ^ Sharon Blyfield on Twitter
- ^ Sharon Blyfield on LinkedIn
- ^ "Sharon Blyfield OBE". aelp.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "How apprenticeships can help disadvantaged learners | Tes Magazine". tes.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "Levelling-up through further education and skills in the West Midlands – Skills World Live Productions". skillsworldlive.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ Rawlings, Laura-Jane (2023-03-10). "Youth Employment UK welcomes new Non Executive Directors & Celebrates Sharon Blyfield OBE becoming Vice-Chairperson". youthemployment.org.uk. Youth Employment UK. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "New Year's Honours: All our Wiltshire winners of OBE, MBE and BEM". gazetteandherald.co.uk. The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "ETF congratulates those recognised in 2022 New Year honours". et-foundation.co.uk. The Education and Training Foundation. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
