Jayne Little founded Skills 4 Ltd in 2006 to improve gender balance in the male-dominated STEM sector. Jayne has continued to be a driving force in the continual journey towards gender equality and inclusion within STEM.
Her passionate team and mentors at Skills 4 deliver award-winning diversity and inclusion programmes, giving thousands of women the confidence and skills, they need to advance their careers and become role models for others. Jayne’s passion for inclusion and fairness is what prompted her to start Skills 4 and the company vision is the same now as it was then: to live in a world where everyone brings their true self to work.
The Skills 4 flagship EMPOWER programme improves proactive ownership, authenticity, and confidence; enabling women to seek and achieve progression opportunities. EMPOWER has been successfully delivered to 10,000+ women in the engineering sector, including current clients such as AECOM, Atkins, Balfour Beatty, Arcadis, and Indutrade. Jayne’s enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge on the subject of ED&I make her programmes a real delight to be a part of. She brings her own stories to the forefront and demonstrates to the delegates that they are not alone in their experiences and the challenges they face within the workplace.
A highlight for many delegates on our EMPOWER programme is the discussion they have in their smaller ‘growth groups’ around Imposter Syndrome. Through this simple discussion, many women have realised they are not alone in experiencing Imposter Syndrome and they are provided with techniques for overcoming it.
Building a connection and taking our delegates on a learning journey throughout our programmes is something that Jayne has championed through the media of storytelling. Jayne encourages all her hand-picked mentors to embrace this technique and the use of storytelling contributes to inclusion and connection, as well as building confidence to bring about changes in the delegates.
Jayne has created 6 Programmes to further gender equality in STEM: Jayne started with EMPOWER, a programme recognised for two-thirds of its participants going to on achieve promotion within a year of programme completion.
“It was the single most important piece of training I have ever had in my 16 years at the company. Having the opportunity to be with other women across the business, in a safe environment, sharing our feelings and thoughts was both emotional and liberating.” Rachel Cook, WSP Following EMPOWER, Jayne created two workshops focussing on particular themes to further gender equality and diversity in STEM.
The Unconscious Bias Workshop explores the business case for diversity and explores the reasons behind our biases whilst developing ideas to help counter bias in the workplace. Jayne’s workshop encourages delegates to recognise our biases and challenge themselves with kindness, all in a safe environment where all delegates can engage and learn without fear of judgement.
EMPOWER has supported over 10,000 women in 150 organisations within the STEM sector and is sparking exciting change within Skills 4’s client’s organisations: • 97% had higher levels of confidence/self-belief • 91% improved their communication skills • 92% were more positive about progression in their organisation • 64% took on extra responsibility Many of these women have become role models, inspiring others to raise their profiles, reach for opportunities, and progress their careers. Our client Atkins has seen measurable results following EMPOWER: • Increase of women in senior grades from 14% to 18% • Increase of women in the workforce from 27% to 30% • 66% of participants promoted within 12 months To further address personal barriers to career progression, our programmes also examine perceived organisational barriers.
