Manchester residents were among people honoured at the weekend in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
Forty year old Scott Fletcher who founded what is now his largest business, ANS Group, from his back bedroom in 1996, aged 22.
The specialist data centre technology and managed IT-services company now has a turnover of £44m. He has long been a champion of apprenticeships and the need for on-the-job training as a way to rectify IT skills gaps as new technology develops and industry changes. He has led the development within the ANS Group of an apprenticeship programme that will provide young people with the opportunity to develop essential skills and build a future in the industry.
The launch of the ANS Cloud Academy will provide jobs with industry leading training for around 60 apprentices over the next two years. As a member of the Board of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, he has ensured that the private sector has a strong voice in decision making on economic growth. He has also recently been appointed a non-executive director of UMI3, the University of Manchester’s innovation and technology company.
Thirty six year old Gary Buxton from Droylsden who set up the Young Advisers (YA) Charity in 2007, which has grown to include 55 teams in England, employing 1,300 young people to improve their communities.
He was responsible for developing the YA approach some years earlier as a pioneering way of involving under-represented and disadvantaged young people in their communities. The model involves a combination of paid and unpaid young people encouraging their peers to get involved in local community projects and providing informed advice to service commissioners and policy makers on the needs of disadvantaged young people.
Under his leadership YA has had a significant impact on local communities through a range of youth-led projects and the individuals concerned have benefitted personally, improving their skills and employability. The charity now has a turnover of around £2m a year and affects 11,000- 30,000 young people each month. In addition to founding and running the charity as Chief Executive, he traines new YAs at weekends and during school holidays. He has now established a YA franchise in the US.
Eight two year old Hari Seth who, for the past 45 years he has served the Indian community in Manchester, especially the Indian Senior Citizens’ Centre (ISCC).
In 1983 he founded the ISCC, a day centre dedicated to providing social adult care to the elderly and disabled members of the community. On a daily basis he ensures that the catering has been ordered and that records have been kept and maintained.
His aptitude in management has greatly helped in the effective running of the meals on wheels service the ISCC offers its members and this is a vital service it provides with the aid of the local councils.
He continues to devote his time to ISCC as a Trustee helping to organise travel excursions within the UK and abroad. Currently, 360 members from Salford, Bury, Trafford and Rochdale now enjoy care services that the ISCC offers and it brings real social benefits for people isolated by age and disability.
Since 1969 he has also been the Founding Trustee of Indian Religious and Charitable Trust Charity in Manchester and between 1975 and 2011 he has held several office bearer posts in the Hindu Religious Society. He also sponsors children in Uganda through the New Hope for Africa UK charity.
