New businesswoman from Sleaford takes home trophy from prestigious awards

Tonia Galati, from Sleaford, set up TG Consulting in February 2020 and specialises in student engagement, graduate employability, diversity and inclusion and works with higher education providers, corporates and SMEs to break down barriers to employment and improve social mobility for young people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Current clients include the University of Westminster, Accenture and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Prior to setting up the company Tonia, who is now based in Kingston, London, worked for over 10 years in talent development and employability at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Kingston University.

She said winning the award is validation that putting social mobility at the heart of your business can reap rewards.

“Setting up a business during a pandemic has been a challenging but it’s also lead me to refocus on what I want to achieve,” explained Tonia.

“I’m passionate about making a difference to the lives of underrepresented students and working with businesses who are committed to giving opportunities to people from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds.

“And I’m proud to say we lead by example: in the last year alone, TG Consulting has offered paid employment and work experience to over 50 young people. We’ve also launched a weekly Student Sessions podcast series and published a book of inspiring student stories aimed at empowering other young people.

“Winning this award is not just recognition of all that hard work but proves that putting young people at the core of your business can have a positive impact on the bottom line. If I can do it in just 18 months of trading with one full-time member of staff, then so can others.”

The Best Businesswomen Awards are now considered to be one of the UK’s most prestigious awards and have attracted over 5,000 entries since they were first set up in 2015.

The judges’ panel, which included accomplished businesswomen and past award winners, praised Tonia for her success so far.

The panel commented: “What an inspirational entry sharing the story of Tonia and her achievements and how this translated into her business which is transforming the lives of others in an amazing way.

“This business has already proven success and its clear this business has longevity. It will be exciting to watch the journey.”

TG Consulting has provided paid employment and work experience to over 50 young people in the past year via paid internships, Government Kickstarter Scheme candidates and Next Gen consultants.