Women working in the automotive sector currently have the opportunity to register their interest in a scholarship worth up to $8,000to support participation in a leadership development program.
“Funding must be apportioned by the end of September and it is unsure when these grants will be available again,” said Suzi Finkelstein, Program Director of Women & Leadership Australia (WLA).
“This fee support opportunity provides women with funding of between $3,000 and $8,000 to undertake a range of leadership development programs.”
Finkelstein said she encourages women working in all aspects of the automotive sector right across Australia to consider the scholarship program.
The fee-support opportunity provides access for women to gain access to a range of accredited part-time leadership development programs. The programs are blended (partly online, partly face-to-face) and will commence towards the end of the year.
WLA has been developing female leaders and supporting the increased presence of women in business and community leadership roles for almost 15 years.
“Based on a simple truth, that women represent an enormously under-utilised resource, we believe that supporting a greater percentage of women to step up into leadership positions enables tremendous cultural and economic benefits,” Finkelstein said. This is especially true for what are traditionally ‘male-dominated’ sectors such as the automotive industry.
WLA offers a range of professional development programs, advisory services, networking channels and on-going research. Since its inaugural forum in 2003, more than 50,000 women have participated, making it the largest gender-focused leadership initiative in the country. A number of public course offerings are regularly available, as are in-house development programs for companies in the public and private sector.
“With so much experience in supporting women, we are ideally positioned to respond to the ever-changing needs of contemporary female leaders and their organisations,” Finkelstein said.
“Each year, employers across all sectors and industries choose to partner with us to develop the skills and confidence of their female leaders and help provide exciting new career opportunities.”
WLA aims to create experiences ‘for women’ but not necessarily ‘about women’. The programs not only provide best of breed leadership development but immerse participants in an experience informed by the complexities and opportunities of being a female leader in Australia today.
Through a deep understanding of the needs of leaders at every stage of their journey, WLA creates a rich and empowering learning environment which is singularly geared to enabling each participant and organisation to achieve their own unique vision of success.
WLA programs are designed to engage female leaders in highly interactive, peer-oriented development environments. During the programs, activities are undertaken which develop participant connections; allowing cohorts to develop into tightly knit peer networks. The strong group dynamic which exists within the programs is fundamental to their success and greatly enhances the learning process.
Expressions of Interest close on 7th September. For more information and to complete an initial Expression of Interest, go to www.wla.edu.au/automotive.