News

Chair transition: Emma Taylor appointed as new Chair

Emma Taylor, new Chair of Movement to Work
20 March 2026
Movement to Work has announced Emma Taylor's appointment as its new Chair. She takes over from Charles Woodburn, who led the charity for three years and will remain involved as a Trustee.
Emma brings extensive experience in early careers, skills development and inclusive recruitment through her role at Tesco — one of the UK's largest employers of young people and long-standing supporters of the Movement to Work network. She formally takes up the position this month.

Since becoming Chair in 2023, Charles Woodburn has played a pivotal role in strengthening the charity's reach and impact. During his tenure, Movement to Work supported the creation of over 68,000 opportunities for young people across 2024–2025 and reached a major milestone of more than 250,000 opportunities delivered since the charity was founded.

His leadership accelerated key initiatives, including the place-based YouthPath initiative, the Work Experience Works campaign, and the Next-Gen AI Skills programme — co-creating practical learning materials with Microsoft and Accenture to help young people use Gen AI confidently and responsibly. The organisation also launched a new collaboration with LinkedIn focused on preparing young people for the future of work.

Sareena Bains, former CEO of Movement to Work, expressed gratitude for Charles's exceptional leadership and welcomed Emma as the organisation's new Chair, noting her experience and passion for developing people as a strong fit for the role.

I'm honoured to take on the role of Chair at Movement to Work. The charity's mission to break the 'no experience, no job' cycle is more important than ever.
Emma Taylor

Emma emphasised that Movement to Work demonstrates what can be achieved when employers, partners and government work together. She expressed enthusiasm about building on the strong foundations established under previous leadership and expanding opportunities to help more organisations embrace inclusive early-career pathways.