The Career Development Programme, devised by Jayne Little, Managing Director of gender diversity specialist Skills 4 Ltd, which has its headquarters in Leeds, won the Most Inspiring Training Programme at The Inspire Awards: Diversity in UK Construction, Engineering & Housing, held at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel last night (June 5).
“To be shortlisted was fantastic so to win was an amazing feeling,” said Jayne. “These awards are intended to help inspire a more diverse and inclusive culture by celebrating those who are leading the way – so it is humbling and an honour to be considered as industry leaders.
“Not a day goes by when the subject of gender inequality is not in the headlines and we are playing our small part in trying to get things changed. More than 5,000 women have now advanced professionally having been on the Skills 4 Career Development programme. They are my inspiration.”
One of the judging panel, Harish Bhayani, a Senior Partner of PRM Diversity Consultants said: “What really impressed us about Skills 4 was that they had managed to identify and address real issues that women face in the workplace and provide tools for that; but not only that, they had also addressed the fact that they needed to give guidance to companies about culture and related aspects of gender.”
Tyneside-based chair of the Skills 4 board, Lynn Tomkins said: “This is a terrific accolade for the company. Industry needs more diversity in its boardrooms and management teams – some more than others. It is proven that a diverse workforce is a more successful one.
“I know from my own experience how many barriers women often have to overcome to progress. It is fantastic that the Career Development Programme has been recognised as giving women and companies the tools and confidence to inspire them to succeed – you only have to listen to some of the women who have completed the programme https://genderdiversity.co.uk/case-studies/ to see how inspirational the training has been and helped them develop their careers.”
An accomplished business woman and executive trainer, mum-of-two Jayne set up Skills 4Ltd in 2006 and works with senior teams of companies on topics such as Diversity and Inclusion succession planning, unconscious bias and organisational change.
Jayne has a proven track record in providing a range of interventions to support employers achieve their inclusion and diversity objectives at an individual and organisational level. Clients include: Atkins, Arcadis, Balfour Beatty, BAM Nutall, BuroHappold, Barclays, Babcock, HS2, Kier, Mace, Mott MacDonald, Rolls Royce, Siemens and Thales.
To interview Jayne or Lynn please contact Paul Robertson paul@probertsonmedia.com or call him on 07887 832144.
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
