community benefits policy

Lighthouse Consultants is committed to promoting the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the local community, both in the area around the head office in South Wales and also in our clients’ communities.

Generating Employment Opportunities

Lighthouse Consultants has a history of recruiting people who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to work in our industry.  For example, we provide flexible working conditions, which have generated employment opportunities for people who otherwise were restricted to long-term unemployment – for example those with high care responsibilities and new parents.  We have recruited a higher proportion of disabled people than would be anticipated, as we believe in providing opportunity to all, based on ability.  We have worked with local universities and colleges to provide work experience, training and job opportunities to recent graduates enabling them to go on to find permanent employment in larger organisations.

Training and Up-skilling

Our policy has always been, wherever possible, to ‘Hire for attitude, train for skills.’  This means that we have recruited people into aspirational positions, and provided support, guidance and on-the-job training to enable them to develop their skills, confidence and experience. For example, one person was recruited from the position of administrative project assistant to delivery consultant.  This met her personal aspirations but had not been considered within her previous employment.  Another recruit wanted to develop financial and accounting skills, was trained within Lighthouse Consultants to manage accounts and then went on to become a Financial Controller within a larger organisation.

We also aim to develop the skills in the wider community by offering training courses to disadvantaged local people.  We provide internal training courses at a fixed price, for up to a set number of company delegates, and an additional place is available to be opened externally, with client cooperation.

Local Suppliers

Wherever possible, Lighthouse Consultants aims to support the local economy by using local suppliers – either local to our head office within South Wales, or local to our clients.  This includes services as well as consumables, and means that when we are awarded long-term contracts in new geographical areas, we look to recruit local delivery consultants.  This not only boosts the local economy but also improves environmental considerations by reducing travel.

Lighthouse Bursary Fund

Lighthouse Consultants is pleased to support students from our local secondary school in achieving ambitions to go to university.  Our aim is to ‘Make a Difference’ and to this end, we financially support four students per year who would otherwise have struggled to go to university.

We work with the local secondary school to promote the Lighthouse Bursary Fund and to encourage students to apply.  The application process includes writing a letter outlining what difference the bursary would make for them, and an informal presentation with a question and answer session.  This enables students who are not necessarily seen as ‘high fliers’ to have the opportunities that are often closed to them.  Previous successful applicants have included students who have had second chances and are turning their lives around, students with fragmented family backgrounds, students from immigrant families and students with long-term care responsibilities.

We do not promote our involvement in this venture, but would like to encourage other organisations to consider how they, too, can ‘Make a Difference’ locally.