Talbot Heath pupils make a date with speed mentoring

Talbot Heath school were pleased to welcome Victoria Sargeant, Head of Commodity Management at Siemens Mobility, who hosted a Women in Industry speed mentoring event for the Lower 5 students recently.

Pupils listened to a presentation on the importance of diversity in industry, and the work of Siemens and the Women@ Mobility network, before taking part in the speed mentoring activity. 

Thirty-three women from a range of functions across Siemens Mobility and Intelligent Traffic Systems, as well as representatives from Dorset Chamber, Team Jobs and other local businesses took part in the event. 

The girls had ten minutes with each mentor, to ask questions about their careers and career paths, and to ask for advice on careers and progression opportunities. 

It was a lively and successful morning, with plenty of excellent learning taking place and the pupils said that they felt they understood how to be more confident in themselves as a result. 

One Lower 5 commented that it was a fun and informative event: "I didn’t realise there were so many different pathways and opportunities out there, and I’m glad that I do not need to feel I have everything planned, and can be flexible in my career path."

Many of the girls were interested to hear about the range of opportunities available in a business like Siemens, which they had previously viewed as an engineering company and was only of interest if they planned to be an engineer, they learnt about a range of other opportunities such as IT, marketing and law. 

Thanks go to Victoria Sargeant and to all of the mentors, who made the event possible; the mentors said they had felt inspired by the students they had spoken to. 

Thanks also go to Mrs Northey-Dennis for organising the Speed Mentoring, and plans are already afoot to repeat this valuable opportunity next year.