After joining the Trustee Talent Team, your next step may be to become a Trustee, and to provide a fairer opportunity for everyone, the only way you can become a GEVPTL Member Nominated Trustee Director is by becoming a Trustee Talent Team member first.

Once you’re in the team, and when there is vacancy on the board (this opportunity usually comes around once a year), you can then apply to become a fully-fledged Trustee.

No matter how long after you’ve joined the TTT, if you’ve had all the relevant training you can choose to apply for the role of MNTD.

Usually, the timeframe to becoming an MNTD is around 12 months to give you time to gain real experience, knowledge and understanding of the responsibilities and what life is like as an MNTD first. But, it could take a little longer based on vacancies at the time or the recommendation of the selection panel.

You also don’t have to become an MNTD if you don’t want to, and you can choose to stop being a TTT member at any point in the 12 months if you don’t feel it is right for you.

A year in the life of a Trustee Talent Team member A year in the life of a Trustee Talent Team member

Being a Trustee Talent Team member is all about bringing your appetite to learn, sharing ideas, exploration and growth. It’s about getting involved and seeing whether being a Trustee is right for you. We want you to bring your perspective to discussions, as it's your different insights and opinions we really value.

We recommend that TTT members should dedicate about 16 to 20 hours per month to the role, which includes attending the relevant training sessions, webinars, and Board or committee meetings. It gives you the time you need to gain the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to make a meaningful contribution. You’ll need some flexibility to take part in all that goes on, but we’ll be here to support you.

We understand everyone’s lives and responsibilities are different. Everyone’s journey is unique and you would find your own rhythm in terms of meeting attendance, but we have found that attending two Committee meetings in the first year works well in order to gain experience.

Essentially, what you bring and invest into the role will shape what you take away from it – but don’t worry, we’ll be here to support you along the way, and you’ll support us too.

Here’s an example of what the first year as a Trustee Talent Team member could look like.

First quarter April - June First quarter April - June

Appointed to the team
TTT induction training run by the Trustees’ advisers
One-to-one TTT induction training run by the Trustees’ advisers
Monthly ‘check-in’ catch ups with our advisers
Join a Committee and attend your first Committee meeting
Attend Trustee training sessions and start your Trustee Toolkit training by the Pensions Regulator

Second quarter July - September Second quarter July - September

Attend your first Board meeting
Attend your allocated Committee meetings
Attend Trustee training session

Third quarter October - December Third quarter October - December

Consider rotating to one of the other Committees to gain experience of different areas of the role and attend the Committee meeting
Attend Trustee training sessions
Attend Trustee Board meeting

Fourth quarter January - March Fourth quarter January - March

Attend a Committee meeting
Discussion with Aon Secretariat to reflect on your first year of being a TTT and discuss your TTT journey
Attend Trustee training sessions
Complete The Pension-Regulator’s Trustee toolkit
Consider if you want to apply for any MNTD vacancies

Throughout this period there will also be:

Monthly virtual catch ups over a coffee with other Trustees or our advisers, to hear guidance and get informal training. These will also be an opportunity for you to network with the other TTT's as a group and discuss experiences, what’s going well, challenges etc.
Opportunities to get involved in various pieces of work outside of the meetings (such as communications, risk management, cyber security, responsible investing etc).
A broad range of externally-run pension-related webinars / seminars that you can join to develop your knowledge and understanding.

How the Trustee will support you How the Trustee will support you

We want you to feel confident and supported as you explore this role, and we know that means having time to learn, ask questions, and grow into your responsibilities.

During your time as a Trustee Talent Team member, you’ll:

receive training on pensions and the Schemes we look after;
receive a range of resources to support you as you need them;
see how the Board operates with a chance to join the Board and/ or Committee meetings;
be invited to training sessions;
be encouraged to ask questions and suggest new ideas;
have a monthly one-to-one catch up with our Scheme Secretary and Trustees; and
be offered a Trustee mentor to support your development if you would like one.

We want to hear from you so it’s important to us to provide a space where no idea is a bad one, to help you feel confident to bring your views and ideas forward. If you ever need something in addition to the above to thrive in this role, we always welcome your suggestions as we want to give you what you need to feel empowered and ultimately become an MNTD in the future.