A local resident left her current role as a business manager for Fujitsu's Defence and National Security division this week for a 12-month secondment in the Basingstoke and Deane District, supporting a range of good causes in the local community.

Caroline Seldon, who is originally from Fleet, will become a "Business Connector", charged with brokering relationships between local communities and big businesses in the area. The scheme is run by Business In The Community (BITC) but Caroline's salary will be paid in full throughout the 12-month secondment by her employer, the technology giant Fujitsu. She was personally selected from a large number of applications by Fujitsu UK & Ireland's CEO, Duncan Tait; and starts her training with BITC this week.

She has worked for Fujitsu for 14 years, and currently heads up a team of more than 100 architects and designers at the heart of the company's Defence and National Security division. She has yet to investigate the needs within the area but aims to focus on employability and the transient population.

"It is such a privilege to be selected for the Business Connectors programme, with the full support of my company right up to the CEO. I think I can use my professional expertise to add a lot of value to the local community. I'll be looking for suitable initiatives and I'm very open to suggestions from the community itself."

In addition to financing Caroline's placement, Fujitsu has created and provides the BITC Connect system, a cloud-based "Facebook-style" platform to help Business Connectors nationwide to share information and ease communication between the organisations involved in individual projects.

Last month, BITC announced a £4.8m investment from the Big Lottery Fund to support Business initiative, and aims to recruit and support over 670 Business Connectors nationwide over five years. This week, Fujitsu has also seconded HR Manager, Kelly Metcalf as a Business Connector in Salford.