Women & Work

Lantra Women & Work Project – “Raising Skills and Unlocking Potential”

This is a really useful training grant available for women worth £650 to each person applying. To be eligible, you must be a women working in a land based business. This includes self employed folk and it covers nearly everything from tractor driving to business management or even sheep dog training! Any training which will enhance your skills and enable you to develop in confidence and progress your career are considered. There is an employer contribution of £200 but for this investment, you will be getting £650 back and the training can be for more than just one course. Effectively £450 of your training will be free!

Joanna Plumb of Edible Ornamentals used the grant for training in food safety management on her Chilli Farm. This has enabled Joanna to reach new markets with her wonderful range of gourmet sauces, fresh chillies and peppers grown in their greenhouses in Bedfordshire. Joanna said “I am so glad to have this grant otherwise, the training I need would be out of my reach – brilliant and thank you for your help and support along the way”.

Eligibile sectors of the industry:

		Agriculture Production	Horticulture
		Aqualculture	Environmental Conservation
		Farriery	Fencing
		Fisheries Management	Game & Wildlife
		Horticulture, Landscaping & Sports Turf	Land Based Engineering
		Trees & Timber

We will help you identify and develop a training programme as part of the scheme through our skills coaching service. If you would like further information, please contact Judy Randon on 01508 499279 or email judy@cassavaltd.com

Lantra Women and Work funding information.

Mentoring for the Women & Work Project

...what it means and how to do it!

The Mentor and the Mentee

A mentor is someone who can help the mentee achieve their goals and support them through their chosen training. The mentor can be a peer, team leader, friend, manager or a partner in the business. The training provider however, cannot be a mentor. The mentee is the person undertaking the training and is guided and supported by the mentor through the programme.

Primarily, the mentor should be genuinely interested in the mentee’s personal development and chosen training
They should encourage and provide time for the mentee to develop her skills. This could include time preparing for the training/research, practice etc.
They should listen to any concerns a mentee has in relation to the training or development in a particular job role
They should help motivate the mentee to achieve her goals
They should discuss with the mentee how they have found the training and how they are managing to utilise it into their job role

Tips for the Mentor

Initial Meeting

Go over the training plan and agree overall objectives
Explain how you will support the mentee
Decide how you will communicate – face to face meetings, email or telephone support or a combination of all three
Plan some dates/timescales for the mentoring and stick to them
Ensure practical arrangements have been covered (time off/childcare arrangements/rota changes etc) to enable the training to take place

Subsequent meetings should follow or precede the training as appropriate. Areas to cover in the discussions are as follows:

Ensure the mentee is prepared to make the most of the training day/course
Discuss the new skills learnt and reflection of achievement
Spend time listening to how the mentee enjoyed the experience
Enquire if they have any concerns about the training (was it what they expected?)
Discuss plans for incorporating new skills into the mentee’s job role
Encourage and support them as they develop using their new skills
Discuss possible future training requirements/next steps for their development
Listen to their ideas and try to empower* them in their role