More than 300 people have already undergone training at The Women’s Organisation in the first few weeks of 2022 – an unprecedented achievement for the Liverpool social enterprise. Jennie Lewis reports
Leading Liverpool social enterprise The Women’s Organisation has already delivered training for more than 300 people just one month into 2022.
Based in the Baltic Triangle, just outside the city centre, The Women’s Organisation delivered 25 training courses and events in January. A further 96 events have already been confirmed up to March 31.
It means that by the end of the first quarter it will have delivered 121 separate sessions – an unprecedented number for the organisation, which has been delivering training for people across the Liverpool city region for more than 25 years.
This latest figure far outstrips the number of training courses and events delivered during that same period over the previous two years – 39 and 37 respectively. Head of Business Advice Plus at The Women’s Organisation, Sophia Kennedy, says they don’t expect things to slow down any time soon.
“During the lockdown period, we saw the number of enquiries received at The Women’s Organisation almost treble,” she said. “It was a real sign of resilience and tenacity in the face of the adversity faced by women predominantly throughout the pandemic.
“It’s fantastic to see so many women taking their futures into their own hands and investing in their own professional and personal development, and for as long as that drive and those opportunities exist, the team here will do all we can to help as many women as possible.”
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The Women’s Organisation was quick to adopt a hybrid working model when the pandemic hit, and within weeks had adapted to offer their full roster of services and events online.
During the lockdown period, the organisation delivered more than 160 training courses, events and webinars, and held more than 1,000 virtual business advice appointments.
More than 3,000 women accessed their training programmes and the organisation was able to assist more than 4,000 women and men with enquiries and connected them to the right support.
Sophia added: “The hybrid working model was for us a huge success, and continues to offer up opportunities as the business community finds it feet again post-lockdown.
“Here at The Women’s Organisation we will continue to offer blended working arrangements for our staff, and the option for our clients and the women we support to attend meetings and events online, instead of face-to-face, should they prefer.
“More flexible working is something women, and in particular mothers and caregivers, have been calling out for, for a long time. I think we are a fantastic example that agile working can actually greatly increase productivity and offers huge benefits all round.
“We are developing our programme at The Women’s Organisation in such a way as to offer events and courses both online and offline. As well as that, we plan to focus not only on business support and advice for women, but also on women’s wellbeing.
“Lockdown has been an unprecedented period in many ways, but certainly in terms of it’s affect on people’s mental and emotional wellbeing. We feel we have an obligation to connect and empower women to grow together in every sense, and so we are offering a variety of pathways to achieve this.”
As part of their business support programme, The Women’s Organisation will host a panel event for women looking to start or scale up a business in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) industry on Friday, February 11.
The event will hear from an esteemed panel of women who are successfully operating in this challenging, male-dominated industry.
Also, on the morning of Thursday, February 24, women are invited to the organisation’s net-walking event at Princes Park, where women can walk, talk and take in some fresh air in like-minded company to start their day. To register or see the full programme of courses and events from The Women’s Organisation, click here.
The Women’s Organisation is the largest developer and deliverer of training and support for women in the UK. It has supported over 60,000 women and helped to create more than 4,000 businesses since it’s launch in 1996.