Soft Skills are key qualities for professionals in the 21st century. They can help you find a great job, and boost your career. To encourage women to promote themselves, Women in Tech (WiT) Russia and IT company CROC launched the Soft Skills School.
“After we hosted WiT Russia’s QA School, we received a lot of feedback from women struggling with self-confidence in the workplace. We realized it was just as important for women to work on their soft-skills, as it is for them to learn hard skills”.
– Elina Valeeva, Chapter Ambassador for Women in Tech Russia
WiT Russia is happy to partner with CROC in creating the School, as they have a proven track record of prioritizing equal opportunities. Last year, at #WebSummit in Lisbon, Polina Khabarova, Chief Transformation Officer and HR Director at CROC, spoke out about the Russian IT industry, drawing attention to the female employee experience and gender discrimination issues in Russia.
The Soft Skills School is in high demand. In just 10 days t, we received 521 applications from all over Russia, as well as from Russian speaking women in NYC, Berlin, and Bishkek, among others. The participants varied from 16 to 54 years old, from different industries, and with different experiences. We were inspired by all their stories, work, life paths, and motivations. The hardest part was choosing only 50, so we even added 10 extra places on the program.
About the course
During this 4-week online course, the participants will receive feedback, meet peers, talk to mentors, do homework, and improve on four key areas. Each week outstanding speakers share their insights on a topic, and talk to their personal experience. WiT is focusing on taking real action, which is why after each talk, a coach continues the lesson with a master class and practical exercises.
Workshop Speakers
- Daria Pushkarskaya will explain how to set and achieve goals.
- Natalia Dyakonova and Lidia Timkovskaya will explore self-confidence.
- Maria Ukolova and Leysen Shayakhmetova will teach effective communication techniques.
- Marina Alekseeva will elaborate on the benefits of mentorship.
- Elina Valeeva will talk about how to network.
School Team
- Dilyara Saetova, WiT Russia
- Angelina Makuha, WiT Russia
- Elina Valeeva, WiT Russia
- Nadezhda Yanushkevich, CROC
- Anastasia Voronkova, CROC
- Tatyana Garkusha, CROC
Aside from these lessons, every Friday we’re organizing informal events on different topics. The first week was dedicated to masterminds, where we divided the audience into groups so they can network, share experience, and collaborate in achieving their goals. For the second casual Friday, we invited a C-level male executive to encourage girls not to be intimidated by bosses and management. We also resolved several cases on how to communicate about salary, vacations, promotions, and other challenging issues. The third Friday aims to increase self-confidence and bravery, which is why we’re hosting a fail-meetup. Several students and School organizers will share their epic fails and lessons learned. The last informal event is about chatting and reflecting on new skills and knowledge. We plan to close the course with a big graduation party and networking event.
The School is in progress and we look forward to seeing what impact it will bring!
