2009 Award Winner
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WINNER: Business leadership in the community Rachel Bedgood, founder, Complete Background Screening |
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| Complete Background Screening works with the Criminal Records Bureau to provide screening and vetting services for criminal reports, credit searches, employers, tenant references and qualification verifications, providing a one-stop shop for pre-employment screening. A Welsh entrepreneur whose leadership has created a successful business with the local community at its heart, Rachel has shown others that it is possible to create a thriving business and offer women a rewarding career in a disadvantaged area. At the centre of Rachel’s business ethos is her desire to put something back into the community. Rather than set up the business in more obvious locations such as Cardiff Bay or the Treforest Industrial Estate, she stayed in Ynysybwl, an area where employment is very low and businesses often struggle. Through the success of CBS Rachel is leading the way for businesses in the area. She has invested in a derelict property in the centre of the town, transforming it into a modern office space. She leads by example, showing others that you can succeed with the right product and approach. The staff at CBS are all mothers who have struggled to maintain a professional career and raise young children. Many professional businesses tend to trade in more prosperous parts of Wales, resulting in travel costs and being away from home for longer for women who want to work in these sectors. Rachel has shown others that you can run a successful business and offer employees the flexibility to juggle a career and family life. Through CBS, Rachel is contributing to the development of a more vibrant community in a traditionally declining area of Wales. She has invested her time, effort and money into her local community, and is leading the way to regenerate Ynysybwl. Her success shows that that with the right approach it, and other parts of Wales, can be a success story. |
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