My friend and former colleague Christine Little, who has died aged 65 of multiple myeloma, was a recruitment specialist, and instrumental in creating the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which represents the industry. She was well known in Westminster and Brussels for her lobbying abilities and worked tirelessly to bring professionalism to the sector.
Christine was born in Yattendon, Berkshire, the daughter of Tom Little, a farmworker, and his wife, Doris (nee Appleford). She was educated at St Bartholomew’s girls’ grammar school. After a two-year course in French and administration at the French Institute in South Kensington, in 1975 she joined the Federation of Recruitment and Employment Services (FRES) as secretary to the secretary-general. By 1993 she had progressed to become its chief executive.
In 2000 the FRES merged with the Institute of Employment Consultants, the body offering vocational qualifications, of which I was then the chief executive. Christine and I, with our respective teams and boards, worked closely together to make the merger a reality.
There were many different personalities and ideas to be taken into consideration and brought together. Christine inspired trust and respect so that when views were expressed people felt they were listened to and that their views were important.
Working with Christine was stimulating, inspirational and fun. She was utterly dependable, always thoughtful and supportive and extremely knowledgeable about a multitude of subjects.
Once the REC had become fully established, Christine and I worked together for a while in our own consultancy. She then went on to become director of Hillingdon Community Trust, in 2006, distributing grants supporting projects in the borough. She was compassionate and committed to helping those around her and passionate about improving the community.
After retiring in 2013, Christine was a parish councillor for the Berkshire village of Frilsham, where she lived, a member of Pangbourne choral society and a trustee of Newbury and District Cancer Care. She was a keen and generous gardener, with an enviable horticultural knowledge, citing Latin names and sharing her knowledge freely – and giving away many of the plants she grew. She travelled widely with her husband, Bryan Kettlewell, whom she married in 1983. When her daughter, Holly, was studying in Uruguay, Christine joined her and they explored Chile and Argentina together.
Christine is survived by Bryan and Holly, and by her brother, Arthur.
