Louise Burns

Founder of Nineteen Recruitment

Louise suffers from chronic pain and chronic fatigue due to rheumatoid arthritis, which impacts her physical mobility. She can only walk short distances, so tends to use a wheelchair for longer distances.

In 2014, Louise became too unwell to continue her career in secondary school teaching and so decided to start Nineteen Recruitment, a recruitment agency that specialises in supplying temporary and permanent staff to the education, social care, and public sectors. Louise wanted to continue to work with schools, supplying them with motivated and enthusiastic teachers at a rate that was honest, transparent and fair.

Louise’s proudest moment was winning the Great British Entrepreneur Award for Service Industries in the North East. She was up against one of the bigger corporate recruitment firms and thought there was no chance of winning.

“I really felt like I won for my achievements in business, and not because I achieved those while being disabled. It was important to me that my disability didn’t come into it: I want to be recognised on the same level as my peers. I don’t want any special considerations. Yes, my disability can be acknowledged as part of my journey, but I don’t want it to be the reason that I am awarded something when competing against able-bodied entrepreneurs.

Our lives, hopes and dreams don’t just stop because we are disabled.“