“When the wind blows, some people build walls. Others build windmills”

It is all too easy to put up barriers against change in our lives and careers. Faced with today’s rapidly changing world of work, many people build walls, ignoring or resisting change. Yet it is possible to break down these walls and harness the forces of change to drive your career and life forward.

This calls for a radically new way of thinking as well as acting – it also requires motivation, self sufficiency and resilience to see the process through.

Are you committed to creating an inspiring future for yourself today?

“Unfortunate are those without goals. For they drift along helping someone else to achieve theirs.”

Windmills is a unique, inspirational approach with a range of programmes and resources that provide individuals and organisations with a purposeful, positive and wider approach to career and life planning. It inspires people to do more of what they enjoy doing, reach their full potential and create an inspiring future.

• Looking for a career change?
• Currently out of work?
• Looking to get more out of your current role?

Windmills can help shape your planning, decision-making, thinking, actions and perspectives - to help you get from your life and career what you want from it.

Windmills has clear benefits for organisations too. Effective career management provision for staff can help businesses grow by developing their existing human resources - harnessing their experience, knowledge, skills and creativity. It can contribute to producing highly committed, focused employees who make the best use of their skills and abilities to meet both their and their organisation's needs.

Windmills contributes to the alignment of individuals goals with organisational goals.

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.”

Our lives are shaped by many forces. In today's world of working, learning, playing and giving the wind is blowing harder… and changing direction more frequently than before. This brings more problems for the person who builds walls – but creates even more possibilities and rewards for the person who builds windmills.

After all, the biggest single factor that determines where you currently find yourself in life is you!

HIE and Careers Scotland in partnership with the Windmills programme, can help you to take a fresh, positive and proactive look at your life. This will help you realise your true potential across all areas of your life.

Go on. Put yourself in charge!

For information about Windmills in the Highlands and Islands please contact:

Iain Eisner
HIE Windmills development manager
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Cowan House
Inverness retail and business park
Inverness IV2 7GF

Tel: 01463 244437
E-mail: iain.eisner@careers-scotland.org.uk

To find out more about the programme and its benefits, see related links, right.

About Windmills

Windmills is an approach developed by the GIEU at the University of Liverpool and Dr Peter Hawkins. Together they have developed Windmills into a portfolio of job, career, work and life resources. The expertise and skills of the Windmills team have enabled the Windmills approach to successfully used with a range of client covering staff development, graduates, women’s groups and career and life practitioners across the private, public and voluntary sectors.

Dr Peter Hawkins is a Fellow of the University of Liverpool and a world expert on career and life management. As a visiting lecturer at Harvard University and adviser to the UK government, he writes, speaks and consults on an international basis. Author of seven books, including the acclaimed 'Art of Building Windmills', he is passionate about supporting individuals to reach their full potential.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise is now part of the Windmills community. We are a licensed partner of the University of Liverpool with 40 'champions' trained across the Highlands and Islands.

The Windmills approach is now creating new opportunities for us to 'enable people living in the Highlands and Islands to realise their full potential on a long term sustainable basis'.