Business Skills for Everyone
Inclusive business courses, awards, events and workshops, unlocking potential and opportunity.
Business courses
Ready to Start Your Business Journey?
Explore our courses designed to build courage, develop enterprise skills, and support your next steps into self development, further education or work.
You are First
FIRST is an accredited learning and development agency specialising in empowering enterprise skills for students, graduates, jobseekers, early stage founders and entry level staff.
Upcoming Events
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Startup Awards North East 2026 Launch party
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Festive Coffee Morning
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Startup Awards North East 2025
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new course dates released SAVE THE DATE
Your next opportunity is just around the corner.
Click the link to enrol on our upcoming courses.
Our work with Students & Graduates
Working throughout the UK and beyond, we support students and graduates to develop confidence and essential skills so they can find a job, start a business or initiate a civil project.
Our work with Jobseekers
We're working with Jobcentre plus, housing associations, large community organisations and employment agencies to empower residents to develop enterprise skills and access meaningful education, decent work or resilient self employment.
Our work with Early stage founders
Self belief, commercial awareness and connections to customers, mentors and peers - we're working hard to improve startup business rates and essential skills for ambitious founders.
Our work with Employers
From meaningful CSR opportunities to supporting your leadership and confidence training for junior staff. We get your business and staff team connected.
Celebrating North East Talent
Alongside our partners, Startup Awards North East shines a spotlight, celebrates and connects ambitious, early stage founders to life changing opportunities and experiences.
The Team
Meet the Team
Charlotte Windebank
As FIRST’s Managing Director, Charlotte is responsible for development, vision and quality. She supports the operations and communication managers and ensures all company outputs are aligned to objectives, values, and mission. Alongside her role as director, Charlotte is an advocate for social and structural change within entrepreneurship and is regularly invited to speak about research, innovations and positive actions towards increased inclusivity and empowerment for early stage founders, young people and junior staff.
Sam Clark
"I coordinate engagement for our learners to help them access wider business support, coordinate post-16 activity with schools and colleges alongside our Learning & Skills Team, and coordinate events like the annual Startup Awards North East. My role ensures the entrepreneurs we support are at the heart of everything we do, by connecting them with the right partners to take their next steps, whatever that looks like for them."
Jack Havver
Jack works across our projects to support FIRST's community of learners, making sure they are comfortable and can fully participate in our courses workshops and events. Jack loves helping people and watching their courage and skills grow as a result of developing enterprise skills.
Julianne Percival
"I’m the Curriculum Lead at FIRST, where I design, develop and deliver our accredited courses and workshops. I work with community partners to build connections and deliver empowering learning experiences that support learner progression. As the Designated Safeguarding Lead, I help learners feel safe, build courage and stay encouraged throughout their journey. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to learn more about what we do at FIRST"
Molly McGoldrick
"I’m the Communications Officer at FIRST, where I design social content, manage our platforms, and plan and deliver campaigns. I write case studies, articles and our newsletter, sharing the impact of our work through clear, creative storytelling. I’m passionate about building meaningful engagement, connecting with people, and celebrating the achievements of our learners across the community."
Rachel Smith
"I’m the Data Analyst Assistant at FIRST, where I collate the data from the business. I search out the trends and patterns beneath all the numbers to be able to find the golden nuggets of insights underneath; what works, what doesn’t, and what can be targeted to improve the journey undertaken by our learners!"
Kimberley Cummings
Kimberley Cummings is an Engagement Specialist dedicated to fostering strong relationships and community involvement. She excels at connecting and empowering entrepreneurs, creating inclusive and impactful programmes. Kimberley's passion and expertise make her an invaluable asset to founders looking to grow their businesses and build meaningful connections.
Richard Chater
Richard Chater is FIRST's quality lead. Passionate about education and empowerment, Richard excels at delivering engaging and effective learning experiences. His dedication to helping learners develop valuable skills makes him a key contributor to our mission.
Joanna Sam
"With a blend of master’s degrees in HR, Marketing, and Computer Science, I bring a well-rounded and practical perspective to community engagement and business support. In my role at FIRST, I connect individuals with the right courses, resources, and opportunities to support their personal and professional growth, working through business support programmes and partnerships with a wide range of organisations. I provide guidance and referrals, represent the organisation at events, and deliver workshops and public speaking engagements that educate, inspire, and empower our community. If you’re seeking support, want to pursue a certification, need guidance on starting your business, or are interested in collaborating on events or workshops, feel free to get in touch."
Joanna Thompson
"As Engagement Team Lead, I build meaningful partnerships with communities, organisations, and individuals to create opportunities for learning and growth. My role is about turning relationships into impact, supporting people to develop courage, resilience, and practical enterprise skills that enable them to succeed. I’m always seeking new connections with people and communities, using business and enterprise skills as tools to empower others and strengthen local economies."
Bethany Thompson
Hi, I’m Bethany, an Engagement Officer at FIRST. I’m all about connection, creativity, and community. My role is rooted in bringing people together, sparking conversations, and helping our learners feel confident and celebrated for who they are. I believe that growth starts with feeling understood, so I love creating moments, big or small, that make others feel seen, valued, and inspired to keep moving forward. Every story shared, every achievement recognised, and every smile along the way reminds me why I love what I do. You can find me on LinkedIn, where I post updates about the different events I am attending so you can come along and chat with me about how FIRST can help.
Don MacMillan
As Financial Controller at FIRST, Don ensures financial stability and efficiency. His expertise in budgeting and planning helps maximise resources to support learners and entrepreneurs.
Billie Jenkins
As the Research and Development Lead, I support FIRST to pursue new opportunities to empower enterprise skills and entrepreneurship through funding, partnerships and advocacy. For 10 years I have worked with organisations and projects that create social value by supporting individuals and communities to thrive. I’m always seeking to connect to people with an ambition to change lives through building skills, nurturing networks and supporting self-employment.
