Colt CEO Keri Gilder speaks with ITP CEO, Charlotte Goodwill

Colt Technology Services CEO Keri Gilder was in conversation with Charlotte Goodwill, CEO of The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP), about how to build diverse and sustainable workforces in the telecoms industry.

As the CEO of ITP, Charlotte leads the UK's leading membership body for the telecoms industry. ITP focuses on advancing the industry, supporting professional development, and shaping the future of global connectivity. The group is more more than a membership body, it's a driving force behind the telecommunications industry, championing innovation, excellence, and professional growth.

Charlotte holds a BSc in Psychology and Counselling from the Open University, combining her academic knowledge with her professional experience to drive positive and meaningful change in the sector. Charlotte is also a former winner of the Top 50 Women in Engineering award.

Read more about Keri's impressive bio here.

The two women discussed key challenges, opportunities, and strategies that can help pave the way for meaningful change and growth across the telecommunications industry.

"Let's build the workforce of tomorrow together," said Keri.

Ensuring a strong pipeline of skilled professionals

Keri spoke with Charlotte regarding the importance of apprenticeships, and the power of collaboration between Colt and ITP.

"Apprenticeships help build diverse and sustainable workforces," noted Keri.

The ITP apprenticeship scheme brings fresh talent into the industry, ensuring a strong pipeline of skilled professionals for the future. ITP also offers tailored career development programmes, thought leadership initiatives, and a vibrant member platform for knowledge sharing.

With a long-standing presence in the Telecoms sector, ITP leverage insights from its network of industry leaders to address emerging skills gaps and prepare apprentices for success in the connectivity landscape. ITP's mission is to challenge perceptions, remove barriers, and empower individuals from all backgrounds to build successful careers in telecoms. By focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, ITP aims to create a more diverse, sustainable workforce that helps close the UK’s digital skills gap.

A diverse workforce is more than demographics

The conversation also focused on the importance of diverse workforce, with Charlotte commenting that a diverse workforce is more than just demographics. "It's about how you're valued and respected. It's how you feel like you belong and are trusted and where people want to get to know you."

Charlotte also spoke about the importance of unbiased performance reviews, clear expectations, people learning from each other, the power of buddy systems, the building of motivation and morale.

Keri spoke about the importance of ensuring cultural integrations during company acquisitions, citing Colt's successful merging of Lumen's culture within Colt. Ensuring a culture is truly inclusive is key, not only for innovation and agility, but for many reasons impacting successful growth.

"If you create a psychologically safe environment and a corporate culture that focuses on inclusivity, then I do believe there is a causation with profitability..." said Keri who cited Colt's award winning success.

"Inclusion has to come before diversity," said Keri who is well recognised across industry as a strong advocate for equality.

The discussion also focused on aspects regarding the recruitment and retention of female talent, and also the impact of confidence on women's career advancement.

A further topic raised was neurodiversity. "The number one thing that neurodiverse employees need is allyship," suggested Keri.

Charlotte concluded the discussion with a key point around the importance of companies suitably continuing to invest in forging a diverse workforce.

Catch this insightful discussion on LinkedIn.