Keller Women in Construction (KWIC) AMEA has launched a division-wide mentoring scheme for 2024. Designed to boost the personal and professional development of women colleagues, the aim is to expand the programme to all AMEA employees in 2025.
The mentoring programme matches mentees with more experienced colleagues, who they’ll typically meet for an hour a week. The frequency and structure of the meetings will largely be left to the individuals to determine, although training and support will be provided to aid both parties.
“We think it’s important to have a light touch – some will just want to have a chat and see where the conversations go, others might want more guidance,” says Keller Australia National Marketing Manager Lea Cochrane, who sits on the KWIC AMEA committee.
“When we formed KWIC we were looking for ideas and a mentoring scheme for Keller women seemed like a great way to support their professional development. Fortunately, the KWIC team in North America is already running a successful programme, so we’ve been able to follow their lead and adapt a lot of their resources, which has sped up the whole process. So a big thank you to HR Director Bana Aparicio for all her invaluable support.”
Bringing people together
The programme is open to any women employees of Keller AMEA, while the mentors are required to have at least five years’ work experience and demonstrate skills in listening, advocacy and teaching, along with a willingness to share and coach.
Applications for 2024 are now closed, and KWIC has completed the process of matching mentors and mentees ready to start in January. We have just over 30 mentees entering the pilot program, which is a fantastic start.
The mentor / mentee partnerships are likely to span functions, business units and even countries, and will begin with the partners discussing goals and development plans, along with group training to introduce them to the programme, support and resources.
KWIC aims to survey participants throughout the year to make sure expectations are being met and guidance can be provided where needed.
An exciting year ahead
“We think the programme will be a great way to support employees’ development, grow and manage their careers, and create a greater sense of job satisfaction,” adds Lea. “While it will appeal to new or young employees, it will also be beneficial to those who are a few years in and looking to take that next step. We also believe the programme will support mentors’ own leadership and development goals.
“Judging from the enthusiastic response from applicants and senior leaders in every business unit, we’re sure the programme will be a success. We look forward to developing it over the year and hopefully offering it to everyone across AMEA in 2025.”
