A charity founder has been given a prestigious award for helping to inspire young people in Norfolk and Suffolk to make good early career choices,

Yvonne Mason, founder of The Mason Trust, was awarded Business Partner of the Year by Suffolk County Council's Raising the Bar programme.

The accolade is given to a person or organisation that 'helps to raise the bar by inspiring children and people and increasing their ambitions'.

The Mason Trust is a charity established by Ms Mason with the aim of helping young people between the ages of 12 and 25 in Norfolk and Suffolk to make more informed career choices.

The trust runs a funding programme to help young people with projects, ideas and trips.

It has also forged close links between schools and workplaces, providing information on how industry works, how supply chains are formed and how students can approach companies to achieve training in a chosen career.

Through its 'icanbea' programme, it also makes students aware of the many career opportunities that are available in the region by posting alerts to job vacancies, work experience and the latest business news.

Ms Mason said: 'I am proud to be chosen to receive this award on behalf of The Mason Trust.

'I am very conscious of the need for today's business leaders to encourage and inform the next generation of young people in Norfolk and Suffolk, to enable them to make good choices before entering the workforce.

'They are our future, and we must nurture them.'

Ms Mason is managing director of Future Marine Services based in Diss, with subsidiaries SafeSTS, SafeSTS (Asia-Pacific)Pte Limited and SafeSTS Lda (Mozambique) - companies that engage in ship-to-ship transfer of cargoes, in some cases dry goods, but more often gas and oil, in places where access to harbour facilities are limited.

She is also chairman of Norfolk University Technical College's Industry Liaison Group, of which Future Marine Services is one of the sponsors.

What do you think can be done to improve the life chances of young people in Norfolk and Suffolk? Write, giving your full contact details, to andrew.papworth@archant.co.uk