“TAP has opened doors people simply did not know existed, it’s amazing to see”

In this case study, Standard Life’s Donna Walsh, one of the architects of the Trustee Accelerator Programme (TAP), discusses how it has created a pioneering pathway to diversify and strengthen future pension trustees. She reflects on how the programme’s first cohort of learners completed their training by stepping into a full mock trustee meeting, demonstrating their readiness and progression. And she looks ahead to the next phase.  

For Donna Walsh, seeing the first cohort of the Trustee Apprenticeship Programme (TAP) reach its final assessment day was a moment of deep pride. “We are all extremely proud to get to this point,” she says. “When we started the programme just over two years ago, we weren’t sure what the success of the programme would look like.” 

Those early questions have now been decisively answered. TAP has “absolutely surpassed any of the early expectations we had,” Donna, Head of Standard Life Master Trust, explains. The mock trustee meeting - a culmination of two years of learning - felt like proof of concept. The trainees have excelled. “Seeing the trainee trustees in action… was just fantastic.” 

Proving new talent can thrive in trusteeship 

One of TAP’s founding aims is to show that great trustees can come from all kinds of backgrounds. Donna believes the programme has now demonstrated this beyond doubt. “It’s absolutely proven the point that people from different backgrounds, different industries can become amazing pension trustees,” she says. 

What impressed her most was their curiosity. “They were asking the right questions, putting the right challenges in - it was reassuring to see this level of development?? 

Challenging old perceptions of pensions 

Research from TPR shows there is more that can be done to improve the diversity of trustee boards, and Donna is open about the risk of group think from traditional trustee boards, often perceived as  older, male, long‑serving industry insiders moving into trusteeship late in their careers. “The majority of trustees will be over 45, male, white, non-disabled,” she notes. 

TAP was designed to challenge this. And it has. “We wanted age diversity… we managed that - there’s a good few of the pilot trainees under 40,” she says proudly. Even more powerful, those younger trainees are becoming advocates. “One participant recently told me that after being featured in a PMI case study, people began contacting her to have conversations about pensions for the first time.  

A cohort that embraced the learning journey 

For Donna, the success of TAP has also been thanks to how the trainees embraced the experience. She describes the group as open, empathetic, engaged and full of energy. 

One example from the final assessment stood out. During a difficult case study about death‑benefits, a trainee asked a deeply human question: “Do we know about the ex‑wife? Did she stop working to look after children?” Donna reflects, “I just thought, wow - that is something I probably wouldn’t have heard raised before.” 

This emotional intelligence, she says, is exactly why diverse voices matter. “She brought that human side into the room… it was a really, really good point.” 

A programme that opens doors 

TAP has already changed career paths. “Some of them will become trustees quite quickly,” Donna predicts. One participant has already moved into workplace pensions after discovering a passion for improving member communications. “TAP has absolutely opened a door to them they never thought existed,” she says. 

And even those who don’t become trustees will carry valuable skills into their careers. “It’s vitally important that we continue to get people in with diverse skills, experiences and industries,” Donna insists. 

The result? Trustee boards with “different voices and different questions.” 

Looking ahead to the next chapter 

For Donna, the future is as exciting as the achievements already made. “Passing the pilot programme over to the PMI has been emotional and satisfying in equal measure”. Planning is already underway now that TAP has become an industry-wide initiative: “It’s going to be critical how we get the recruitment right for the next cohort… and make sure we don’t lose what TAP is all about.” 

After two years of breakthroughs, Donna sees TAP as a powerful catalyst for change in pensions governance. From shifting perceptions to expanding the trustee talent pipeline, the programme is proving what’s possible when people are given a chance to shine. As she sums up: “It was just great to see. Pretty eye‑opening, actually.”