Chwarae Teg – Agile Nation 2 Career Development Programme

Skills at Work Award 
Sponsored by: The Open University in Wales 

Since it was launched in 2015, Chwarae Teg’s Agile Nation 2 Career Development Programme has helped participants to gain a collective pay rise of more than £3million.

The 12-week adult learning programme caters to women from diverse backgrounds and industries, supporting them to work towards their career goals while gaining recognised qualifications through the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Sessions use coaching techniques to benchmark a starting point for participants, then their goals are revisited throughout the course, and new ones set. The course has so far been completed by more than 2,700 women.

Rina Evans, senior delivery partner at Chwarae Teg, said

Women come to us from different sectors, at different levels and stages in their careers, but once they come together in the group sessions, they realise that a lot of the challenges facing women in the workplace are the same.”

Chwarae Teg’s most popular course, the Level 2 Aspiring Leaders Award aims to close that gap and to increase the representation of women in leadership positions.

Rina added: “Women make great leaders, but a lot of women who come to us suffer with imposter syndrome – they feel they aren’t qualified to be in leadership positions. Sometimes going back into education as an adult and having that recognised with a leadership qualification helps give them the confidence to push ahead and achieve their goals.

Gemma Williams, ecology and biodiversity advisor at Welsh Water, completed the programme in 2018 and has since been promoted twice. She said: “I’ve had ongoing technical training throughout my career, but Agile Nation 2 was the first opportunity I had to work on my personal development. It’s opened so many doors for me. Before completing this course, jobs would come up and I would sell myself short and not apply for them. I would convince myself I didn’t have the right skills or experience, but this gave me confidence and ability to believe in myself.

“I’m a big believer in learning throughout your life. When you go from full-time education into work, and as you progress in your career, the skills you need to develop will change so there will always be a need to keep learning.”

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  • Welsh Government
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