Give your career a spring clean this March

‘Working women from across Wales, should take up the chance to boost their careers’ – that’s the message this month, from two Welsh women who have done just that.

Anna-Jayne Davies and Vilash Sanghera have both completed Chwarae Teg’s free Career Development Programme, which they credit with kick-starting new chapters in their lives – and now they and are sharing their stories to persuade other women to do the same.

Anna-Jayne Davies who works for Leekes has never looked back – having been promoted since she finished the course, she wants fellow females to reap the benefits too!

Anna-Jayne, said: “When I first heard about the programme, I thought my place of work had emailed it to me by mistake as I wasn’t even a supervisor. I didn’t think I would ever progress, although deep down I wanted too. 

“I’m so glad I took the plunge as the whole experience has been fantastic. There was so much support from Chwarae Teg, that anything I thought would be challenging was easy to approach. The programme helped me realise that I had the ability to do a more senior role and to believe in myself more. In fact, since completing the programme I applied for a position as a supervisor but was offered the position of Department Manager! 

“To other women out there, I’d say ‘Go for it! You have nothing to lose but so much to gain’. I thought this would be a course I just did – a tick box exercise to put on my CV. However, it has honestly changed my life.” 

Vilash Sanghera from General Dynamics UK, mainly joined the programme to build her self-confidence and communications skills but says it gave much more.

Vilash said: “As well as helping me believe in myself and my potential, the programme gave me new skills and a recognised qualification. It can make you discover a lot about yourself, such as strengths and abilities you may not have realised you had before. 

“It provided a chance for me to meet like-minded people which came with a sense of belonging and empowerment. With a positive mental attitude, confidence and determination there is no reason why women cannot develop into strong leaders. If more women take up the opportunity we really can make Wales a fairer place to live and work, with strong female representation.” 

Rina Evans, Senior Delivery Partner, Chwarae Teg, said: “We are hugely proud of the achievements of all the women who have taken part in our programme over the years. They have not only gained key leadership skills valued by employers but also developed the confidence and motivation to achieve and prosper in the workplace. We thought the best way to encourage others to sign up was to hear from past participants, and Anna-Jayne and Vilash really demonstrate what can be achieved and have become role models for many.”

“To date thousands of women in Wales have taken part in our programme and secured pay rises totalling over £4.4million, so it’s well worth taking a look into.”

As Wales’s leading gender equality charity, Chwarae Teg works to improve the position of women in the Welsh economy. It’s Agile Naton2 Career Development Programme is a key part of this work and fully funded by the European Social Fund through Welsh Government

Currently run online due to Covid-19, via a live virtual environment, it is designed to be interactive and engaging. Throughout, participants are supported by the dedicated team at Chwarae Teg who provide expert coaching and mentoring, and the training itself means participants can achieve an accredited Level 2 Leadership and Management qualification.

For further details, eligibility information and to apply women should go to: https://chwaraeteg.com/projects/agile-nation2/#career-development-programme