Skip to main content

Elizabeth Heath

A woman holding a trophy.

Employer Skills Champion 

Creating opportunity at scale: opening doors for young people 

For thousands of young people across the West Midlands, getting a foot in the door can feel like the hardest step. A lack of experience, limited connections, or simply not knowing where to start can stand in the way of a brighter future. 

Elizabeth Heath is changing that. 

As Social Impact Lead at Severn Trent, Elizabeth has built powerful partnerships that turn potential into real opportunity-creating pathways into work for young people who need them most. 

Turning ambition into action 

At the heart of Severn Trent vision and Elizabeth’s work is a bold ambition: to support 100,000 people at risk of water poverty over 10 years, helping them build skills, confidence and access to employment. 

Already, the impact has been significant. By 2025, more than 26,000 people had been reached, generating £7 million in social value across the region. 

But behind those numbers are real stories. Young people gaining confidence, securing their first job, or taking the first steps back into education. 

The power of partnership 

Elizabeth has built strong collaborations across the West Midlands, working with organisations including the West Midlands Combined Authority, local councils, the Department for Work and Pensions and fellow employers. 

Together, they are tackling one of the region’s biggest challenges: youth unemployment. 

Programmes like LEAP (Learning, Employability and Preparation) are helping people develop the skills and confidence to succeed in the workplace-with around one in four participants moving into jobs, including roles within Severn Trent itself. 

Meanwhile, innovative initiatives like the Job Rotation pilot have supported young people - many not in education, employment or training - into paid placements, with half progressing into positive outcomes. 

Real experience, real jobs 

Elizabeth’s approach focuses on giving people more than just training - it’s about real-world experience.  Some have gone on to secure two-year contracts, offering stability and a clear path forward. 

For many, it’s life-changing. Young people are given the chance to step into professional environments, build skills, and prove what they can do.  

A lasting impact 

What sets Elizabeth apart is her ability to bring people together around a shared goal: creating real opportunities for those who need them most. By connecting education, employers and communities, she is helping to break down barriers that have held too many people back for too long. 

And the impact is clear - not just in the numbers, but in the lives being changed every day. 

This is more than a programme. It’s a movement. A movement that is helping the West Midlands lead the way in showing how collaboration, commitment and compassion can open doors and transform futures. 

Tamsin Morgan, Head of Communications at Severn Trent, said: “Elizabeth’s leadership in this work, and the inclusive way that she has approached collaboration across multiple agencies and businesses, including WMCA, has undoubtably been key to success which has in tern benefitted many young people in the West Midlands.”