Coles has partnered with Dream Big Australia to encourage women to participate in STEAM -focused careers.
Despite years of focus and hard work on even gender imbalance, men are still more than women in most STEAM jobs (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). The partner organizations hope to address the disadvantages faced by women by providing career-enabling opportunities, networks and mentoring programs, aimed at promoting diversity across the pipelines of talent.
As part of the initiative, Coles Head of Store Customer Platforms Melissa Robertshaw developed a training module on ‘Leading Through Adversity’, which shares details on the organization’s strategy in difficult conditions.
The module will be delivered to women who are currently completing STEAM bachelor’s degree studies and participating in the ‘STEAM Ahead’ program, which supports and better prepares women to become more skilled, confident and qualified when entering the field of work.
Robertshaw said the partnership with Dream Big Australia provided a great opportunity to promote Coles as a technology employer of choice for young women across Australia.
“I’m passionate about diversity of thought and experience because I believe it’s really driving a well-performing team,” he said.
“Collaborating with the program by designing the syllabus and providing Coles team members to facilitate the sessions will give students an internal insight into the interesting and relevant technology challenges that need to be addressed. of a business like ours.
“The relationship also sheds light on our commitment to addressing the STEAM skills gap for women and supporting the careers of young Australian women. Aside from being the right thing to do, it can help further value careers in Coles to technology professionals, both women and men. “
Chief Technology Officer John Cox said Coles is excited to partner with Dream Big to help students build mentoring skills, confidence, networks and relationships to enhance their skills, and raise their potential before graduation, allowing them to have diversity in today’s highly competitive job market.
“The market for technology talent is more competitive than ever, so having multiple paths and opportunities that attract a diverse range of talented professionals is an important part of Coles’ ‘better together’ strategy for in attracting and retaining talent, ”Cox said in a statement.
“One of the exciting things about Coles technology is that we are able to help each of our team members and customers through tangible products and experiences that make our lives easier, even during poverty. “
The partnership with Dream Big follows two recruitment campaigns managed by Coles to attract new talent to work in digital and tech roles over the past 12 months, including the Relauncher and Connect Every Moment programs.
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