SistersIN – celebrating the power of mentorship

As a founding partner of SistersIN, ICC Belfast is proud to be a champion of the careers and leadership development programme for Sixth Form schoolgirls.

SistersIN provides a combination of mentoring, training and networking opportunities designed to build confidence, empower girls with personal skills and inspire them with female role models.

One of the most powerful aspects of the programme is one-to-one mentoring, which is provided in a structured programme from September to March.

This year, 645 professional women across Northern Ireland signed up to be mentors and were matched with students.

Among this year’s mentors are three of the ICC Belfast team, Antonia Willis, Business Development Manager, Associations, Laurel Gray, Head of Events, and Lisa Black, Senior Event Manager.

As the programme reaches its finale with a high-energy event at ICC Belfast on 07 April, we sat down with Antonia Willis to reflect on her first mentoring experience.

She said, “When I was asked to take part as a mentor on SistersIN, I said yes immediately. Putting myself in the shoes of a sixth form girl, I remember that I felt very lost at that age and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My mum didn’t have a corporate job, so when I was making big decisions about courses and careers, I didn’t really have any close experience to inform them.”

Antonia’s mentee is 17 year old Ciara and she made quite a first impression. Antonia said, “Oh my gosh, that girl has her life together and she has so much going on! She’s preparing her UCAS uni applications, she’s learning to drive, she is working towards her A levels, she’s musical, creative and really sporty and she manages to have a social life!

However, what she was missing was a sense of direction on her future career. She was thinking about teaching; she is also really creative and is considering studying music. Through the SistersIN work shadowing, I’ve been able to share experience of sales and large-scale event management.

“In particular, Ciara was interested to meet our in-house production team who look after the sound and AV for our shows and events. Sound production is a module in the music degree she’s considering, so this has given her a totally new perspective on where that could lead her.

“We’ve also elevated her view of sales roles by showing her how large events, like a national or international medical conference, actually shape the future and facilitate bigger conversations. Hopefully Ciara got a taste of our passion for what we do at ICC Belfast and she’s learnt that sales is based around building relationships and offering solutions.”

Antonia has been blown away to see her mentee develop personally through the process. She said, “I know Ciara feels that her confidence has really grown and I can totally see that. 

Through the SistersIN project task, I watched her overcoming challenges with just a bit of a supportive reassurance. She realised that it’s ok not to have all the answers but she’s been empowered to work through things to solve problems. 

"When I first met her, she was quite shy and she couldn’t see how capable she is. Hopefully now she has a much stronger awareness of this.”

Many SistersIN mentors report that they also gain personally from the whole experience and Antonia is no different. She said, “I’m still in my 20’s so I feel quite young and I wondered if I would have enough to give to benefit a student. But you don’t realise how much know-how you have gained from experience. It’s only through being alongside students again that you can see how far you’ve come yourself. It’s been so rewarding to see Ciara flourish!"

Since its inception just three years ago, SistersIN has grown fivefold, both in terms of students and mentors offering their time. It looks set to keep growing, as next year it aims to expand right across Northern Ireland, and to eventually become accessible to all post-16 female students by 2026. Organisers also have future aspirations for international expansion.

Antonia concluded, 

I would 100% recommend being a mentor and I can’t wait to have the opportunity to support SistersIN again. I only wish it had been around when I was 17.

Find out more about SistersIN here: www.sisters-in.org