Career boost for female staff in hospitality as Women 1st secures new funding for training

Women 1st the brainchild of People 1st, the sector skills council, has already provided continuous professional development (CPD) training and mentoring for 400 women. A number of female employees from companies such as Merlin Entertainments, ABode Hotels, Victory Services Club and Sodexo have benefited from the Women 1st training programmes. Step Up, the CPD programme from Women 1st, instils junior female managers with the confidence and skills needed to become the senior managers, chief executives and board members of tomorrow. In addition to the CPD programme, Women 1st also offers the unique leadership mentoring network which allows candidates to be matched with some of the industry's highly respected senior leaders in order for junior female staff to benefit from expert advice and guidance to help progress their careers. Sharon Glancy, the founder of Women 1st, said: "The new funding is a welcome boost for ambitious women and their employers in our industry. Our CPD programme and the leadership mentoring network have proved very popular. Feedback shows that our training delivers real results, with a third of participants achieving career progression, 20% securing an increase in salary despite the difficult financial climate, and nearly 90% believing they have the confidence to help break the 'glass ceiling'. "It's very easy for training and development to become a lesser priority, especially in such a difficult economic climate. However, given the tangible results our subsidised training can provide, it should not be a deal breaker, especially when it can have such a positive impact on career progression. It's vital that we do what we can to retain talent within our sector." The programmes are subsidised to 85% of the costs making the courses extremely affordable at £300 per person. Anyone interested in joining the Women 1st programme should contact dan.power@people1st.co.uk