Mercedes-Benz Grans-Prix partnered with Stemettes to launch a second cohort of their Student to Stemette mentoring programme in October 2021. There were 17 women and non-binary people paired with 17 mentors who supported them to increase their confidence and employability skills in STEM fields.
They were provided with ‘Meet Guides’ which facilitated discussion on a range of topics. These included topics such as networking, setting your goals, and writing personal statements and CVs. Each pair spent an average of 9.25 hours in their mentoring sessions.
The three main objectives of the STS programme are: to achieve at least one goal set at the beginning of the programme; expand mentees’ network and networking skills, and increase mentees’ self-confidence.
Achieving Goals
Mentors supported their mentees to identify goals to work towards at the start of the programme. Goals ranged from improving interview skills to creating a CV or portfolio. Mentees feedback showed that 81% of their goals were achieved.
“The goals we set for the end of the programme was to increase my confidence, improve my soft skills and knowledge of jobs in motorsport engineering as well as how to put myself in the best position to have a successful career within this sector. I feel I have achieved all of these goals – all of the advice I have received, skills I have developed and knowledge I have gained has been invaluable.” – STS mentee
Expanding networks
Mentors supported their mentees to connect with other women in STEM both now and in the future through developing their STEM networks and networking skills. The first step in this was the connection with their mentor, which 92% said they wanted to maintain after the programme.
Participants STEM network increased by 96%
Building Self-Confidence
Throughout the programme, mentors supported their mentees in improving their self-confidence. They rated their self-confidence before and after the programme out of 10.
Participants self-confidence increased by 92%, from 5.08 before the programme to 7.75 after the programme.
“I’d say the main unexpected benefit was how my confidence has grown with the help of my mentor. Through discussions, mock interview practice and more, with all her support has made me feel much more confident in my abilities. I cannot praise the programme enough.” – STS mentee
Mentees said an unexpected benefit of the programme was an increase in their confidence and their mental well-being.
What did mentors think?
Mentors rated the programme at the end, giving it 9.4 out of 10, and 100% of them said they would recommend it. They felt that it had expanded their network and improved their mental well-being, with 86% of mentors feeling more inspired and having better mentoring skills at the end of the program.
“I has made me feel positive about being able to give back something that I benefited from when I was a younger lady.” – STS Mentor
Thank you to Mercedes-Benz Grand-Prix for partnering with Stemettes on this programme and to all the mentors who volunteered.
