Mentoring

WiFCERM Mentoring Programme

Looking to grow your skills and confidence in 2026?

Women in FCERM can help

Join the Women in FCERM Mentoring Programme and connect with inspiring professionals from across the flood and water sector.

Our programme brings together mentors with valuable skills and small groups of mentees who want to learn, develop, and make real progress toward their personal and professional goals. Sessions take place both in person and online, offering flexibility to suit everyone.

Each mentoring group focuses on the topics women have told us matter most to them—ranging from personal effectiveness and career progression to achieving a healthy work–life balance.

Participants come from a wide range of organisations, creating a rich mix of experiences and perspectives. And you don’t need previous mentoring experience—or need to be a woman—to get involved as a mentor.

And there’s even more to our mentoring programme

We run additional learning and development sessions throughout the year for our mentees and mentors. Previous topics include interview techniques; productivity; #iamremarkable; parenthood and careers; CIWEM chartership; career development, and networking. These are free to join and the recordings are made available after the event.

We also award ‘Certificates of Achievement’ to those mentees who demonstrate excellent participation and commitment to the programme.

Success of the WiFCERM Mentoring Programme

Since 2019, WiFCERM has supported over 700 women from 31 different organisations to grow personally and professionally through the successful group mentoring programme.

In 2024, WiFCERM featured in CIWEM’s The Environment Monthly and the Flood Industry publications, highlighting our success.

Feedback from previous mentoring programmes also shows the benefits of being part of the mentoring programme.

Our Mentors said:

‘It was my pleasure to be as a mentor on this platform and really loved sharing my experiences with other women who face similar challenges and I also learnt from theirs. It was a very positive journey. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of it’.

‘Group mentoring is great because you get to spend time with a group of thoughtful and inspiring women. And if I can share my experiences and perspectives to help them succeed then that makes me feel honoured and proud. As a mentor I think you learn a lot about yourself and it opens your mind up to differing views, challenges and perspectives. The benefits go both ways!’

Our Mentees said:

‘Being part of the programme has allowed me to really boost my confidence and develop my skills as an individual and in a collaborative environment. It has allowed me to confidently speak up and build up a ‘tool kit’ of useful techniques moving forwards’.

‘I liked the small group and felt it worked very well in terms of shyness etc.  The content was good and definitely covered the subject.  We all had time to practice and put ourselves out of our comfort zones.  I also liked the group helping shape the mentoring to what we all needed’.

Women in FCERM Mentoring Programme 2026 – Grow. Connect. Be inspired.

Join us and make 2026 your year of development.

Applications for the WiFCERM Mentoring Programme 2026 closed in March

We the application forms to match mentees and mentors and create our mentoring groups. Successful mentors and mentees were notified in early April. 

Get ahead on your application by:

• Reading the information pack and reviewing the mentoring topics we offer.  
• Discussing your development objectives with your line manager for the year ahead.
• Thinking about what personal or professional goals you want to achieve from the mentoring programme. What do you want to be different in 12 months’ time?

Mentors can apply here

Mentees can apply here

Why become a mentor?

Our Mentoring Information Pack above should provide all the information you need on what being a mentor involves, but it’s always great to hear people’s direct experiences. Our short video introduces some of our male allies who have been mentors in previous years and why they joined the Women in FCERM Mentoring Programme.

For any queries, please contact us at WiFCERMMentoring@environment-agency.gov.uk.