Bentley Motors completes first “Extraordinary Women” scheme

Bentley has completed its first ‘Extraordinary Women’ mentorship programme.

The five members of its first cohort visited Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe.

The programme aims to inspire the next generation of female talent.

It has engaged female students in the fields of technology, engineering, design and business, at partner universities in the UK and Middle East.

During a week-long programme, students explored various aspects of Bentley’s manufacturing operations in Crewe.

They learned more about products and business strategy, join panel talks with senior leaders and trainees from Bentley’s early careers cohort and pitch their project ideas to colleagues from the Sales and Marketing team.

Member of the Board for Human Resources Dr Karen Lange said: “Women remain under-represented in many key areas of our business, so as part of our Beyond100 goals, we are extending our efforts to reach female students – particularly those studying STEM topics – and offer them insights into our business and the wide-range of careers that we offer.

“We are delighted that our first visit and mentoring programme has been a success and I particularly enjoyed meeting with the students and seeing how they applied their academic insights to the business challenges we set them.

“We will use their input and feedback from the week to improve our outreach activities further still.”

Sara Almarzooqi, who is studying Computer Science at the American University in Sharjah, has taken part.

She said: “It’s been a privilege to have participated and I could not think of a better way to have immersed myself in the brand whilst also learning more about engineering and technology from various women in the engineering team at Bentley Motors.

“Travelling to the UK to see the factory and meet some inspiring women behind this brand was a remarkable experience.”

Sofia Ragni, also on the scheme, added: “The week has been a great insight into what goes in to designing and building luxury cars – and how the Bentley brand is evolving after one hundred years.

“It was great to find out more about the craftsmanship that goes into each car, hear from Bentley’s leaders about their own career paths and insights – and see just how central sustainability is to Bentley’s future.

“The experience has definitely sparked my interest in further work experience and opportunities in this sector.”