York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Skills Support for the Workforce – STEM Programme.

York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Skills Support for the Workforce – STEM Programme

WISE is involved in an exciting new project to work with SME’s in North Yorkshire to create a regional resource based on the highly successful People Like Me programme. Supported by ESF funding, we are looking to work with at least 20 companies in the region, in particular those in York, Scarborough, Craven and East Riding to provide training and development opportunities for women in STEM roles in SME’s and create a network to support them developing further.

We will support the setting up of a local network for these Champions to build upon, to complement existing local STEM outreach activities and events, and to link into existing national resources and networks.

Each STEM Champion will receive training and resources to deliver the new People Like Me resource pack (to be produced specifically for the region) to groups of girls, plus they will provide role model case studies on themselves for inclusion in the resource.

They will also be offered mentoring training and an industry mentor from another SME in the region for personal and career development.

We need female Champions working in a STEM role, aged 19 and over, from SME’s in the York, Scarborough, Craven and East Riding regions to form four local STEM Champion Networks.

In addition WISE will design a toolkit for wider use across the LEP area that will support employers to address unconscious bias, promote equality of opportunity and effect wider cultural changes at organisational level, which will aim to improve the recruitment, selection and professional development of female employees. The Toolkit will be informed by existing research and good practice but will be tailored to the needs of local employers. We expect a minimum of 5 STEM employers to be engaged in designing the Toolkit.

If you would like to get involved or can suggest organisations that would benefit from this project, then please get in touch with Shagufta s.sharif@wisecampaign.org.uk.