Catherine, the Princess of Wales has teamed up with the boss of the supermarket chain Iceland as the future Queen looks to win over business leaders to the importance of early childhood development. Catherine this week urged business leaders to prioritise wellbeing in the workplace to support family life as she launched her Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, of which supermarket giant Iceland is a member.
Catherine this week urged business leaders to prioritise wellbeing in the workplace to support family life as she launched her Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, of which supermarket giant Iceland is a member.
The Princess of Wales has championed the role businesses can play in supporting children and their carers, saying the foundations for key skills employers look for “are built in the earliest years of our lives”.
A video shared on Kensington Palace’s social media channels on Saturday shows Catherine’s recent visit to an Iceland food warehouse in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, with the firm’s executive chairman Richard Walker.
They discussed the long-term Shaping Us campaign, spearheaded by the Princess of Wales, which aims to “transform the issue of early childhood from one of scientific interest to one of the most strategically important topics of our time”.
In the clip, Catherine tells Mr Walker: “You hear time and time again that these soft skills, you know, the creativity, the collaboration, the critical thinking, the flexibility, the resilience.
“You know, these are things that you’d hear that businesses are looking for and it’s really interesting seeing how, actually, so often, the foundations for those skills are built in the earliest years of our lives.”
Mr Walker added: “Looking at the Shaping Us campaign and reading some of the science behind it, it really challenged my thinking and it made me think what more we can do, personally as a parent, but also actually as a business.”
Nodding, the smiling Princess added: “That’s the thing, is that so many of your employees but also customers, their parents, their grandparents, we all know that it’s important to look after their wellbeing because those are the people that are raising children today.”
She later said: “It’s really important that all of us are supporting the most vulnerable in our communities and particularly now, yes, when they’re all struggling, community support is needed now more than ever.”
The Princess of Wales said: “It is said, time and time again that the soft skills, you know, the creativity, the collaboration, the sort of the critical thinking, the flexibility the resilience, these are things that you’d help businesses are looking for.
“And it’s really interesting seeing how actually soften the foundations for those skills are built in the earliest days of our lives.”
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