Jersey Employment Trust appoints new Chair

Tuesday 02 February 2021

A local employment lawyer has been appointed as the new Chair of a charity dedicated to helping people with disabilities, or long-term health conditions, into fulfilling jobs.

Helen Ruelle is taking over the leading role at the Jersey Employment Trust from former Jersey Finance CEO Geoff Cook, who has completed his five-year term of office.

Ms Ruelle, who is Director of Local Legal Services at Ogier, has served as a trustee and vice-chair for three years. 

She commented: “I am thrilled to have been appointed chair of an organisation which does such wonderful work. Like many businesses and charities, we have challenges ahead, especially in the current climate. JET is superbly run by a fantastic team and I look forward to continuing to work with them, our clients and my fellow trustees so that everyone in Jersey feels as passionate about JET’s work as we all do.

“On behalf of JET, I would like to thank Geoff for giving his time and wisdom generously. He will be a very hard act to follow. He has achieved a great deal and we have all enjoyed working with him immensely.”

Mr Cook added: “Looking back on the last five years, I feel my greatest achievement was supporting the team to win the Reuse contract and lending my own expertise as a banker to the development and funding of the Acorn site expansion. It has saved hundreds of tonnes of waste, provided more affordable goods to the public, and created employment opportunities for more clients with disability and mental health challenges.

“I am confident that Helen will be an outstanding chair having already come to know the organisation well and because she has an excellent relationship with the leadership team.”

JET have also announced the appointment of Jason Laity to the Board of Trustees.

Pictured: Jason Laity has been appointed to the Board of Trustees.

Until September 2019 he was senior partner of KPMG. Since then, he has had a variety of roles, including some time at Digital Jersey, and he has just been appointed Chair of Jersey Finance. 

He said: “While JET clearly already do a huge amount, I really want to help bridge the gap between that untapped talent pool and organisations, particularly in financial services, who would really benefit from the people JET support. There is a real advantage here for truly inclusive organisations to work in partnership with JET to unlock the potential in their clients by providing opportunities and an environment that enables them to thrive.”