Sharon Blyfield | |
|---|---|
 Sharon Blyfield speaking at WorldSkills UK in 2019 | |
| Born | Sharon Marcia Blyfield December 1966 (age 57–58) [1] |
| Education | Burlington Danes Academy Hammersmith and West London College |
| Employer(s) | The Coca-Cola Company Cadbury |
Sharon Marcia Blyfield OBE is a British marketing executive and human resources expert. She has championed early career development at The Coca-Cola Company. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2022.
Blyfield is from Shepards Bush, West London. [2] She has two brothers. She attended Burlington Danes Academy [3] a voluntary aided school, and was determined to get a job that would mean her mother did not have to worry about money. [2] She completed a BTEC Extended Diploma in business and finance whilst studying at Hammersmith and West London College. After completing her course, she was offered a job in financial administration. [2] [4] [5]
Blyfield worked in advertising, holding positions at Cadbury and The Coca-Cola Company. At the time, Coca-Cola was expanding into the UK economy, and Blyfield was involved with scaling up their advertising programmes. She eventually shifted to human resources, with a particular focus on the development of early career employees. [ citation needed ]
Under Blyfield's leadership, Coca-Cola expanded their apprenticeship scheme to include engineering, sales and administration. [2] To improve access to the scheme; she modified the GCSE requirements, and removed the requirement for a CV. [2] She has developed mentorship and training programmes to support apprentices throughout their careers. [6]
Blyfield has campaigned to make apprenticeships more commonplace in the UK. [7] She has also spoken about the need to increase the salaries of apprentices. [2] [8] In 2023, Blyfield was appointed Director of the Board of Youth Employment UK. [9]
Blyfield was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours. [10] [11]
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