Junior Achievement Isle of Man has strengthened its team with two new appointments.

The Manx charity has appointed Neill Jacobs assistant programme manager in secondary schools and John Wood community engagement coordinator.

Originally from Cape Town Neill Jacobs, 34, moved to the island in 2002 where he worked first in the construction industry. He then spent six years in the Isle of Man Prison Service as a prison officer working with young offenders before joining Junior Achievement.

Neill said: ‘This is a huge career change for me, but as a married man with two young children I wanted to achieve a better work/life balance and this I’ve found with this fantastic job at Junior Achievement.

‘As an assistant programme manager I’ve been given what I see as a privileged opportunity to work with young people and help to equip them with a whole range of life skills; to connect with them and support them to become the best they can.

Away from the office and classroom Neill, who lives in Peel, is a keen sportsman. He plays cricket for Peel and St John’s, hockey for the Valkyrs and is a member of Peel Golf Club.

John Wood, 31, is a trained classical musician. A former Ramsey Grammar School student, he is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and has played tuba in professional symphony orchestras around the world. Most recently he was principal tuba with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa before returning to the Isle of Man earlier in 2018.

John said: ‘After travelling the world you come to realise that the saying “there’s no place like home” is very true. I enjoyed performing but what I came to love more was the educational side; engaging with young people through teaching music.

‘When the community engagement coordinator’s job came up I saw it as an opportunity to still be creative, but to channel that creativity into a new, but equally fulfilling direction.

‘Along with developing Junior Achievement’s social media platforms I’ll be looking at volunteer recruitment and retention. With this in mind, and as 2019 will mark 100 years of Junior Achievement Worldwide, we’ve set ourselves a challenge to recruit 100 new volunteers starting on January 1 next year.

Chief executive Sue Cook said: ‘John and Neill’s different but complementary skills bring a new dynamic to the team. They’ve joined us at a pivotal time in Junior Achievement’s development, when we’re planning a range of ambitious fundraising projects over the next 12 months, together with growing our volunteer resources and delivering programmes to more than 5000 students to inspire next-generation entrepreneurs.’