A Birmingham-based education charity that is embarking on a round of trustee recruitment is urging younger professionals to also consider trustee roles, as recent research highlights an age imbalance on many charity boards.
Sharon Bell, Chief Executive of Services For Education, issued the call as a Charity Commission study* found that just three per cent of trustees in England and Wales are aged 40 or under, while more than half are retired.
The report says that the findings reveal not only a diversity issue but a governance risk with boards that have an older demographic, potentially lacking the lived experience of a charity’s beneficiaries.
Sharon said:
“As a charity that predominantly supports young people – we teach music to some 28,000 children a year and work with schools to deliver expert training and development to schools across the West Midlands – we are aiming for a balanced board of trustees including experienced, commercially minded specialists as well as younger professionals who may be at the earlier or mid-term stages of their career.
“Such a balance will both enhance the experience of younger people as well as enable both our board of trustees and other charities to better reflect the diversity and demographics of the city and region we serve.”
The Charity Commission report says the age profile of charity trustees has hardly changed since its last survey in 2017 and concludes that, as a result, skills gaps can emerge around digital, technology and community insight. This issue can be worsened by informal recruitment, such as personal invitations from trustees, which maintains a lack of age diversity.
Sharon added:
“We have worked hard to develop both our trustee recruitment process and subsequent induction programme, respecting that trustees are voluntary and may have limited time availability.
“We also recognise that for many, this may be their first appointment as a trustee and they may be unsure about how to develop their role on our board – so we have introduced a ‘buddy’ system with an existing trustee who will provide support.
“By combining long-standing experience with a younger profile, we will help ensure our work continues to be relevant to those we support and in the communities in which we work.”
Services For Education is particularly seeking applications from those with a wide variety of backgrounds who have a passion for seeing lives transformed through education. In this round of recruitment, there is a focus on those with leadership roles in primary and secondary schools and multi-academy trusts, as well as those with financial expertise to work alongside the current finance lead trustee, who is at the beginning of his third term in office.
Sharon concluded:
“We are happy to have informal discussions with those who might be interested but are hesitant. We want to make the process as easy and friendly as possible – recognising that for many, this is uncharted territory. There is enormous satisfaction and experience to be gained by becoming a trustee – especially in one serving the local community and young people whose future lives are often determined by the work we undertake.”
Services For Education has an annual income of around £7m and is supported by Arts Council England, charitable donations and its commercial operations.
Further details are available at: https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/careers/trustee-board-member.
Applications close on Monday, June 1, 2026.
* Trusteeship – a positive opportunity: Understanding skills, experience and demographics in England and Wales, published by the Charity Commission, working with Pro Bono Economics.
