Local charity founder celebrates MBE honour

The CEO of a West Midlands-based charity has been recognised as a recipient of the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen 's Birthday Honours List.

Di Vernon (pictured), founder and chief executive of EmployabilityUK, has been commended for her commitment to supporting disadvantaged young people within the local community - helping to give them the skills, confidence and motivation to succeed in the workplace, and improve their social mobility and life chances.

Di said: “I am shocked and delighted to have been listed in this year 's Queen 's Honours List.

“I feel extremely privileged to do the work that I do and to be able to make such a positive difference to young people 's lives. I am also hugely appreciative of the continued support of all of our amazing volunteers working with us at EmployabilityUK, as without them, I would simply not have been able to achieve this. ”

Di has been recognised for her passion and commitment to making very real and long-lasting differences to the lives of young people in their transition from education to work. She will officially receive her award from the Central Chancery of the Orders of the Knighthood at a special ceremony later this year.

Ms Vernon added: “I am so honoured to have been personally nominated for such a wonderful accolade, and feel incredibly humble. It 's very surreal, as only last month I attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen 's Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) on behalf of the EmployabilityUK team.

“I will be dedicating this award to my late father, who was a committed supporter of our work. I know he would be very proud that the charity I founded has made such a phenomenal impact to so many young people. ”

Di launched EmployabilityUK in 2014 to assist young people from all backgrounds in their integration into the world of employment and on to their personal pathway to success. Over the past eight years, she has worked tirelessly to establish and nurture positive relationships with many businesses, large and small, encouraging them to offer employability programmes to young people in a bid to enhance their opportunities, aspirations and career prospects.

To learn more and explore current volunteering opportunities with EmployabilityUK, visit www.employabilityuk.org or call 0345 601 5551.