WAVE recently announced that applications for its inaugural UK mentoring scheme are now open. Having received overwhelming support from the AV industry the programme will mentor 20 women currently working in or wanting to join the sector.
Applications can be made at www.womeninavuk.com and the closing date is 9 November 2018.
Applicants can come from any role within the AV sector from end-user to the manufacturer and ideally with a particular career challenge that they would like assistance on. Suggested job roles include Operations, Integrator, Technician, Engineer, Support, Conferencing co-ordinator, Sales, Marketing/PR and Business.
There are no age limits to the applicants and the scheme will support women from around the UK. Prospective mentees will be interviewed late November and announced early December with the programme starting fully in January 2019.
In addition to the support provided by the AV User Group, the scheme has been made possible by the support of the following industry companies;
Gold Sponsors
- Biamp
- Promethean
- Visavvi, part of Saville Group
Silver Sponsors
- Bubble Agency
- CDEC
- ISDM Solutions
- Kromer
- Midwich
Bronze Sponsors
- infiLED
- Jacobs Massey
- Kramer Electronics
- NEC
- RGB
- Sennheiser
- Woop Jobs
The 6-month programme will consist of the following activities for the mentees:
- Monthly session with specifically chosen mentor
- Monthly meet up with fellow mentees where each mentee will be asked to present on their part or role in the sector
- Guest speakers from the AV sector and adjoining industries
- Training on presenting and other required elements to further career or deal with a particular career challenge
- Support from programme lead
- Meet-ups at industry events including ISE 2019
- End of programme meet up with all mentees, mentors and sponsors
Abigail Brown, founder of WAVE UK and OpeningZ Recruitment commented: “The AV sector is predominantly male – from senior directors through to engineers. And very little has changed over the last 10 years. There are women in some roles, but it is clear from events like ISE and InfoComm that the representation is minimal and is not across all roles or levels of seniority. This proposed programme is not a way to investigate the whys and wherefores of why this has happened or continues to happen, but to make a step change in ensuring the picture and landscape changes.
There have been many reports and research into why diversity matters within the workplace. All site that having a more gender-balanced structure leads to additional ideas, creativity, business development and income generation. We need to ensure the AV sector understands this potential, and how by employing women, can lead to significant and positive impacts on businesses and their outputs and this is why we are so excited that this programme has been able to get off the ground – we are very grateful to our sponsoring companies.”
www.womeninavuk.com
