Christine Bissex-Foster has been employed by The College Merthyr Tydfil for 28 years; 8 as a Lecturer in Finance, Management and Training and Development, and the past 20 years as Head of Enterprise, Skills and ERASMUS+.
Chris was awarded both a Wales and a National Training Award in November 2000 for her commitment to Lifelong learning and training excellence.
She was also Finalist in the Welsh Woman of the Year 2001 Education category, and appeared in Power list 2002 as one of the 1000 most powerful and influential people in Wales.
Moreover, she worked as a one of 5 national judges on “The Biz” programme a joint BBC and WDA media series to change attitudes towards entrepreneurship.
Chris also Chaired the National Training Award panel from 2006 to 2014.
In 2014 she was approached by the Welsh Government to Chair the National Apprenticeship Award Judging Panel in Wales which she still does to this day.
In 2015 The SE Wales colleges won a NGCE National Enterprise Educators Award for the innovative Trading Places project.
She was runner up in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards – Entrepreneurship Champion in 2018, and listed in the top 100 Business Women in Wales in 2018.
In August 2020 Chris led on, wrote and submitted an application on behalf of The College Merthyr Tydfil for a Princess Royal Training Award. She was informed on the Princess Royal’s birthday in August 2020 that the college has won the prestigious award.
Zoë Binning is a multiple, award winning business owner and consultant. She has a background in retail management, space planning and visual merchandising within the food and gifting arenas and has also worked within the charity and non-profit sectors.
She is a wedding industry, catering and hospitality expert and has worked with Welsh wedding venue businesses for a number of years supporting them to increase wedding bookings and drive profitability.
Zoë specialises in sustainable and ethical wedding services and best practice, is passionate about supporting businesses and individuals as they take steps towards more sustainable and eco-friendly practices, as well as guiding companies to be more inclusive and to better serve the LGBTQ+ community.
As a business owner and keen advocate for promoting enterprise and instilling entrepreneurial skills in young people – by supporting them to become business owners and to drive their own success – Zoë is proud to be a Big Ideas Wales Role Model , a Business Wales mentor and DTA Wales peer mentor and is excited to have taken up the position of Enterprise Champion at Coleg Gwent.
Matthew Watts: Enterprise, Skills & Employability Coordinator at Coleg y Cymoedd provides enterprise support to learners past and present across the four campuses of Aberdare, Nantgarw, Rhondda and Ystrad Mynach.
Matthew is part of the Futures team at Coleg y Cymoedd, which sits alongside the Employment Bureau and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
Being a keen sportsperson and having 5 years experience of running a business in the sport sector, Matthew joined Coleg y Cymoedd from the middle of 2019; firstly within the Business & International Services department and then onto his current role. Matthew is also on the Governing Body at Coleg y Cymoedd and part of the Resources Committee.
As a qualified tutor and assessor, Matthew is able to deliver across a variety of fields and has been involved in various projects and initiatives that support employment, training, engagement and physical activity as particular areas of expertise.