AV recruitment specialist Jacobs Massey has been announced as the first official sponsor of Women in AV’s (WAVE) “revolutionary” new mentoring programme.
Launched in July at London 1 Wimpole Street, the new programme has been created to help support women working in the AV industry on both a collective and individual basis to help them achieve their career ambitions and to become role models for other aspiring generations of women to choose a career in AV.
Those on the programme, which is free to join and backed by AVTE, will each be assigned a dedicated mentor, who will provide one-to-one support and advice (i.e ahead of a job interview) on work related matters as when it’s requested. There will also be regular group meetings and events, the first of which is schedule for December.
As with WAVE’s quarterly events (which provide networking and educational/motivational guest speakers), the mentoring programme will be sponsorship lead, with Jacobs Massey the first to be announced…but more are needed.
“We’re delighted to add our support to this fantastic new programme,” said Graeme Massey, founder and MD of the recruitment firm. “We feel passionately that a diverse workforce is vitally important to any business in any industry or sector. We want to help WAVE in succeeding in its ambitions to not only encourage women working in AV today to be the best they can, but also to encourage future generations to choose AV as a career. This new mentoring programme will play a hugely important role in achieving this.”
“Our support is lead by Jane Thomasset of JacobsMassey, specialist in HR and recruitment, WAVE.”
Sadie Groom, MD of tech PR firm Bubble Agency, who’s spearheading the mentoring programme added.”We are delighted to announce our first sponsor Jacobs Massey as a bronze partner.
“We have had a great amount of interest from potential mentors who range from managing directors to sales directors of manufacturers, distributors and resellers. The AV User Group have also been very supportive and are busy selling sponsorship for us.
“In today’s world companies need to get involved in the diversity and inclusion issue – it is a real one and they need to not only drive the issue forward but be part of the change that is happening. The sponsors will be part of the programme and invited to meet with the mentees and mentors at many events throughout the programme. Their branding will be prominent throughout the marketing and it will provide a big tick in the box for any companies CSR requirements.”
“We’ll have a network of advisors that we can tap into if required. This will range from simple advice about a current work situation to interview training and legal support if need be.”
She concluded: “The more women we have in senior positions will encourage more women to join the sector – it’s a great one full of fun people, involving lots of travel if you want it and great technology so why wouldn’t you want to join.”
An extended interview with Sadie discussing her and WAVE’s plans for the new mentoring programme will appear in our brand new magazine, out later this month. To get yours and to subscribe to our newsletter, please click here
If you’re interested in supporting the new mentoring programme, please contact Sadie at wave@bubbleagency.com