Inova Consultancy
The pilot of the Employability booster training programme was delivered by Inova Consultancy over two pilot sessions on zoom. The first pilot was delivered on the 22nd and 23rd of September 2022 from 10am till 2:30pm, and the second was delivered on the 10th and 11th of November 2022 from 10am till 2:30pm. The first session aimed to help participants develop their soft skills, including self-efficacy, confidence, communication, negotiation, and problem solving. The second session focused on strategic career management skills which included personal branding, standing out and career action planning. The training programme also gave participants the opportunity to network with like-minded people.
To help with the recruitment of both sessions the event was created on Eventbrite and shared across various Inova Consultancy social media platforms. The event was also posted in the Women’s Engineering Society Facebook group. 60 people registered for the first event and 31 attended. 97 people registered for the second event and 47 attended.
Positive feedback was received from the first session showing it was beneficial. Out of all of the participants, 99% shared having developed their knowledge and improved their confidence and self-efficacy after having taken part of the sessions (36% strongly agreed and 63% agreed with the statement). Participants also commented that the information has given them the opportunity to reflect both in their personal and work life and that the training was helpful to create a future plan of where they would like to take their career next.
The second session also received positive feedback. 69% of participants strongly agreed that the sessions developed their knowledge regarding the modules. Participants commented on the good use of breakout rooms which allowed them to network and get to know other participants.
The facilitator stated that discussion throughout the sessions was active and participants were engaged in the case studies. Exercises were deemed useful and participants stated that they wish they had the knowledge delivered from the training earlier in their careers, the session has overall given them knowledge to form future plans.
Positive feedback from both evaluations of the sessions indicates that the training was serviceable. At the end participants were invited to join a WhatsApp group so they can continue to network and engage with each other.
