Jane Walton Chair
Jane has a background in education, local government and cultural heritage.
For the past 21 years, she has been involved in local, regional and national campaigns and projects aimed at increasing young people’s entrepreneurial awareness, skills and aspirations. Jane was a founding member of the Young People’s Enterprise Forum in Yorkshire and the Humber which managed the region’s enterprise strategy on behalf of the Regional Development Agency. From 2007-2010 Jane was regional director of the Make Your Mark campaign in Wakefield and then Yorkshire delivering activities designed to engage young people in enterprise and promoting self-employment as a positive career path.
Jane is the director of a micro-enterprise which aims to promote and develop a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship across Yorkshire. Jane provides business mentoring and training for young people for the Princes Trust’s Explore Enterprise programme and Unltd. Jane works with schools and further education colleges in Yorkshire advising on enterprise education and delivering programmes to students, teachers and career advisers. Jane is chair of Young Enterprise West Yorkshire which delivers the company programme which develops students’ entrepreneurial and employability skills and attitudes. Jane was instrumental in piloting the government’s Enterprise Adviser programme in the Leeds City region and continues to act as an enterprise adviser at Airedale Academy.
Jane is a non-executive director of Yorkshire Mentoring CIC. Jane became the chair of the FSB’s education policy portfolio in June 2016. In this role, she is a member of the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Ambassador’s Group, Barclays Lifeskills Advisory Group and OCR’s Qualifications Committee. Jane is a trustee of Rugby League Cares and has an ambition to see a National Rugby league Museum established in Yorkshire.
Jane is a member of Soroptimists International (Wakefield) supporting girls and women and a trustee of Wakefield Well Women’s Centre. Jane is a qualified teacher, a WEA tutor and Fellow of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, CIPD and the RSA. In her spare time, Jane is a school governor and an avid Castleford Tigers Rugby League fan.
