Retaining and promoting a more gender-diverse workforce in an engineering consultancy through specific development training

Abstract

In order to increase the retention rates and career advancement of women, Atkins, a multi-national engineering consultancy and member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has introduced a development course. The course was created by an external training provider, Skills 4, who also deliver the training. Designed to equip women with skills to aid their career progression, since the introduction of the course in 2011, the organisation has seen an increase in the number of women in senior positions, as well as an improvement in retention rates for women. In this article the course curriculum is summarised, and its impact examined. Additionally, the training programme and its results are compared to those of a similar initiative in the United States.