The answer to levelling up: Northern Power Women will get the nation mentoring

Northern Power Women’s Levelling Up Progress report, published on 7 December, outlines how the Northern Power Women (NPW) community has found the solution to the Levelling Up agenda.

The report will be launched virtually by CEO and Founder of Northern Power Women, Simone Roche MBE.

This progress report follows on from the 2020 Northern Power Women Levelling Up by Powering On report, in which they detailed three ‘asks’ to set an inclusive and progressive precedent in a post-pandemic world. They asked both individuals and organisations to:

• Give women seats at the table
• Invest in female and Black, Asian and minority ethnic led businesses
• Invest in future talent

Now, a year on the 2021 Levelling Up Progress report documents how the NPW community have delivered on these asks, as well as framing their new big ask:

Let’s get the country mentoring. Northern Power Women have set their sights on their largest PoWEr Up programme yet. Starting in January of 2022, they will deliver 50 virtual PoWEr Up sessions, harnessing the power of both mentors and mentees from their 70,000 strong community, and enabling them to spark 10,000 more conversations across the North.

Sir Roger Marsh OBE, Chair NP 11 supports the report “People are at the heart of levelling up. I look forward to being part of this and hope to see as many people as possible and organisations get involved with this Programme and the benefits it can bring.”

These PoWEr Up sessions are one-hour virtual events that consist of mentees and mentors being separated into break out rooms, giving them the chance to network, skill share and learn from each other. Mentors and mentees from all genders, sectors and career levels are welcome, and it is this broad, inclusive and accessible approach that allows these sessions to make such an impact.

Having already successfully sparked over 10,400 conversations through previous PoWEr Up sessions, this Levelling Up Progress Report documents the proof that mentoring and human connections are the secret ingredients to Levelling Up the North for good. NPW have seen firsthand how participation in these sessions can change both lives and careers, with many mentees having gone on to accept internships and job placements within organisations who have supported PoWEr Ups.

Simone Roche MBE, founder of Northern Power Women, said: “during the last twelve months our community has been more purposeful than ever, and this Progress report is a testament to exactly that: how we have continued to level up, power on, and deliver on the promises we set out over a year ago.
Now we are ready to roll out our PoWEr Up programmes across the North and beyond. We truly believe that the meaningful connections to be made on these sessions are the answer to the Levelling Up agenda. We’ve seen PoWEr Up participants find job roles, progress within their own organisations, expand their network, build their confidence and more. People should be the priority of the Levelling Up agenda, and these PoWEr Up sessions put our people at the heart of progress”.

The report includes representation from a wide-range of cross sector organisations including EY, BNY Mellon, KPMG, Barclays, Black United Representation Network, Michael Page, HSBC, Natwest, Alliance Manchester Business School and United Utilities.

Simone explained “these PoWEr Up sessions are both accessible and effective, allowing everyone to feel the benefits of mentoring and networking across the North. We want to do for mentoring what Joe Wicks did for exercise, and PoWEr Ups are how we’re going to do it”.

As we enter a post-pandemic world, it is vital that we prioritise the meaningful human connections in order to create a lasting Levelling Up for everyone. This Levelling Up Progress report is the roadmap that will take us there, together.

Everyone has a part to play to as we Level Up together. Northern Power Women are ready to show you yours. Will you join them?