Personal Development and Business Skills 

Women often face an uphill battle with inequalities in the workplace, caring responsibilities and less education than men. Some of the barriers stem from lack of experience, such as presenting yourself at meetings, while others are internal, from low self esteem.

The Women@Work network meetings often address some of these issues. Click here for a list of topics covered in previous meetings.

The WEA classes also cover many of these themes, particularly job skills or self development, either as part of the It’s Your Turn course aimed at returners, or Options and Choices. Some courses are also aimed at specific areas, such as Rural Tourism. Contact the WEA office for further information on by e-mail or 01463 710577.

This section describes information and resources about

• Business Skills
  • Women Entrepreneurs
• Training for women in non-traditional roles
• Personal Development

Business Skills

There are a number of workshops available in business skills, such as meeting skills, setting up your own business, management training, interviewing skills or time management. Many are free or low cost. Some of the available sources in the Highlands include:

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE)

HIE provides learning and skills support to individuals looking for employment, either from their own staff or guiding you towards courses and programmes. They also support individuals thinking of becoming self-employed. 

LearningWorks

A HIE-sponsored project providing news and information on learning services across the Highlands. It also has some on-line modules you can explore.

Council for Voluntary Service (CVS)

Some Council for Voluntary Service organisations provide training in skills needed for committee work, for example chairing meetings, or treasurer skills. There are usually available at low or no cost. Contact your local office to see if any are on offer.

Business Mentoring

New for 2010, the Business Mentoring Project offers businesses in Caithness and Sutherland a chance to have a mentor who can help develop key business skills and build your confidence, helping you develop a stronger and more sustainable business. The project is looking for businesses in Caithness & Sutherland, and mentors. Contact W@W member Christine Wood by e-mail or phone 01955 621228

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Women Entrepreneurs

A number of websites and support organisations offer support to women who wish to set up their own busineses. These include:

Scottish Business Women is a website for enterprising Scottish women with information on starting or running your own business.

Prowess: website, and their e-zine 'Women's Enterprise (UK) News' provides information aimed at the female entrepreneur and business owner.

GWIN (Global Women's Inventor and Innovator Network) which aims to find effective ways of bringing support, assistance, tools, advice and information to assist women in achieving significant growth in their businesses. It is developing the European Women Inventors and Innovators Network, which aims to become a first stop resource for women inventors.

BAWE (British Association of Women Entrepreneurs) is a non-profit professional organisation for UK based women business owners affiliated to the world association of women business owners Les Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM). It provides opportunities for networking, mentoring and training, and a website for marketing and advertising.

Everywoman  is a UK wide provider of training, resources and support services for women in business. They have a website, publications, host conferences and workshops, and provide awards to showcase inspirational women.

Aurora  is a private London -based network for corporate and entrepreneurial women. Activities include business development services for women, a monthly newsletter and networking forums. It uses ‘gender capital indicators’ to rate business for their commitment to gender equality in the workplace.

Business Skills Resources

The following documents on other websites are particularly useful:

The SME Toolkit offers software, business forms, training, to download.

In addition, a number of documents dealing with equality issues are in the Library of this website.

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Training for women in non-traditional roles

Did you know? ...
7 out of 10 employers agree that recruiting more young people of the ‘non-traditional’ sex would help solve skill shortages. Women comprise only 8% of employees in engineering , and only 1% in construction and plumbing. Yet only 15% of girls and boys received any advice on work placement in areas dominated by the other sex.

Challenging occupational segregation is one of the Scottish Government's two Priority Areas for the advancement of equality of opportunity between men and women.

Personal Development

The line between business skills and personal development is often a fine one. For example, good time management helps you in all aspects of your life, not just your working life.

Personal development means overcoming barriers which prevent you from realising your potential at work and home. These barriers can be:

• Internal: e.g. lack of assertiveness
• Lack of interpersonal skills: e.g. listening or negotiating
• External: e.g. women who are subject to domestic abuse.

Becoming more self confident, assertive and skilled can be the first step towards developing your potential and making your voice heard.

Some workshops addressing these issues are available, including in Women@Work meetings, WEA courses or adult education community education courses.

In addition, there are some resources available on-line. The Women’s Media website www.womensmedia.com has a number of articles on a variety of issues.

There are also plenty of books: browse your library or bookshop. In the Book Reviews section of this website, we invite reviews of any books women have found useful. Other useful organisations to contact include:

Highland Community Planning Parternship: for information and training about violence against women (see also our topic on this issue for March 2009).

Personal Development Resources

The following documents on other websites are particularly useful:

• a number of documents on the Women's Media.com website
• Counselling Directory ... this website is a support network of UK counsellors and psychotherapists, with information on their training and experience, areas of counselling covered, fees and contact details. This service is free, confidential and easy to use.

In addition, a number of documents dealing with equality issues are in the Document Library of this website.