The Equality & Diversity committee of the Science Directorate is committed to monitoring and reviewing the training programmes offered by ZSL for staff and students.
This is to ensure that career development opportunities are offered to everyone, especially those how might not otherwise have access to informal mentoring and on-the-job training opportunities.
Training
ZSL provides training for all staff and students. This includes in-person sessions and external workshops as well as online training through the ZSL Learning Lab. The Organisational Development and Training Team support the professional development of staff and provide mandatory and optional training. Line managers can advise on training opportunities for staff through the annual Performance Development review process.
Examples of training provided by ZSL:
- Leadership
- Project Management
- Effective Communication
- Diversity and Inclusion
Training is not just offered through courses. Staff have access to on-the-job training as well as shaddowing opportunities with other people in the organisation. When needed, staff can also access external training by discussing with the HR department.
Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, Senior Research Fellow says: "Training options have been useful in terms of supporting my career development (I for example recently attended an in-house leadership and management course that really helped me secure tactics for dealing with sensitive managerial issues) and increasing my confidence when working in the field (I was for example able to attend a training session delivered at ZSL by an external convenor on health and safety tips while working in very remote areas prior to spending time in Tanzania)."
Mentoring
The Equality & Diversity committee of the Science Directorate is committed to setting up and helping facilitate a mentorship programme open to all its staff and PhD students. This commitment stems from our 2017 review of support needs for staff and students during our Athena SWAN application process. The aim of the mentoring scheme is to improve the working environment and increase opportunities for development for all Science Directorate staff and students.
Most of our staff currently chose to be enrolled as possible mentors. Mentees can choose to be mentored by a specific staff member for a minimal period of 6 months and to a maximum of one year.