WISH North Wales - A woman's journey in housing with Hannah Blythyn AM

WISH North Wales has once again excelled in its Autumn event.

Over 50 of the network’s members and friends attended the event, held at the spectacular Moneypenny head office in Wrexham, to experience a series of presentations, including headline speaker, Hannah Blythyn AM, Deputy Minister for Housing & Local Government.

Blythyn generously dedicated her time to give an exclusive presentation about her personal career journey in housing and government, along with an insight into life working in politics.

The North Wales network is honoured to have welcomed Hannah to speak at this event, given that she is a proud North Walien herself, serving the community that shaped her. Hannah shared her fascinating career story and members felt privileged to hear about the barriers she’s overcome and the challenges she continues to face, as well as some advice on how to challenge the ‘norm’ to make real positive changes.

Hannah’s speech included: “My Mum always told me: ‘You can either stamp your feet and say it’s not fair, or you can stand up and do something about it to make a change for the better.’”

For the first time the WISH North Wales Board invited some of its members to share their own career journeys as a female in the housing sector. First was 20-year old modern apprentice, Maya Waud from Cartrefi Conwy, who delivered a presentation on life as an apprentice so far. She talked about the people who inspire her, as well as giving her opinion on what the sector can do to encourage more young people to choose a career in housing. Maya closed with setting a challenge to the audience; to do something to inspire one person over the next few weeks.

Maya commented: “I have had such a great experience speaking at the event, although I was naturally nervous, it was a fabulous experience.”

Maya was followed by Jen Griffiths, benefits manager at Flintshire County Council. She gave an inspirational talk on her journey in housing and bravely shared some of the personal hurdles she has overcome during her career, giving advice to others who may experience the same. Griffiths enthusiastically closed by encouraging everyone to be the very best version of themselves they can be: “Without commitment from people, things won’t happen, know your people. Be creative and always be the best you can be.”

Nikki Waud, Chair of WISH North Wales said: “We’re so pleased with our continued success that is driving the growth of our network and supporting the housing sector here in North Wales. The ‘A Woman’s Journey in Housing’ event has proven once again that we are attracting brilliant speakers, such as Hannah Blythyn, who have so much to share for our members to take away. I’d like to thank Hannah for giving up her time to attend our event and for the inspiration she has provided for our members.“

“We’re also proud, that for the first time, we have been able to present our members with the opportunity to ‘get into the spotlight’ and share their own thoughts, journeys and advice. This is a great example of females supporting each other in their careers, which is the true purpose of the WISH network.”

Special thanks to the team at Moneypenny who hosted the event, providing breakfast and refreshments as well as a guided tour of their unique office space. Rachel Clacher, founder of Moneypenny, also shared some heart-felt success stories of ‘We Mind the Gap’, a charity that offers six-month paid, full-time work and support programmes to young women, targeting those who face the greatest challenges, For more information please visit https://wemindthegap.org.uk/

If you’d like to join the WISH network and benefit from many fantastic events, please visit https://www.wishgb.co.uk/ to find your nearest region.