The people behind the work

Omar founded Anabranch Plus to build the route he could not find himself. He left school at 13, spent time in the criminal justice system, and came back to education as an adult, eventually earning a degree. That route taught him what most employability provision misses; is that people do not fail to progress because they lack ambition, they usually fail because nobody shows them where the door is or what is behind it. Anabranch Plus is built on the answer to that through confidence, capability and then opportunity. Outside Anabranch, Omar is a trustee at Switchback, a board member of the Health Innovation Network and sits on the Mindset-XR panel as a lived experience expert, working on how immersive technology is designed for mental health.

Les brings the operational discipline that turns a good idea into something a commissioner can rely on. He has spent his career in business planning, programme management and international trade, and holds an ILM Level 7 qualification in Executive Business Mentoring and Coaching through the Association of Business Mentors — the same standard our corporate mentors are trained to. At Anabranch Plus he is responsible for how the organisation runs: contracts, delivery infrastructure, quality and the systems that keep our work accountable to the people we serve and the bodies that fund it.

Lucy builds the other half of the equation. A programme is only as good as what a participant can walk into at the end of it, so Lucy works with employers, training providers and education institutions to make sure those routes are real, open and held. She develops the relationships that turn an interest in social value into an actual vacancy, course place or interview and stays with participants through the point of handover rather than stopping at the referral.