Centre of Learning marked a decade of delivering female-focused mentoring at a special event hosted this week in Belfast.

Since its launch in 2015, the mentoring programme has empowered more than 1,000 women across Northern Ireland with personal and professional development training, equating to more than 11,000 hours of mentoring.

Designed to support women at all stages of their career and business development, it matches mentors with mentees as part of a nine-month programme involving knowledge-sharing, practical workshops and one-to-one support.

One of The WiB Group’s longest-standing programmes, it aims to accelerate the number of women entering senior leadership roles to realise their full potential and ultimately maximise their positive impact on the local economy, which lags behind the rest of the UK on the percentage of female-led companies.

According to the 2025 Gender Index Report, NI continues to have the lowest proportion of active companies which are led by women (17.5%) compared to the UK average of 19%, while only six of the companies featured on this year’s Ulster Business Top 100 are led by women CEOs.

Commenting on the 10-year milestone, Centre of Learning Director Laura Dowie highlighted the ongoing value of women-focused mentoring: “This incredible milestone reflects the success and need for mentoring, its ability to elevate women to the next level in their careers and business is crucial for inclusive growth in the NI economy. At the Centre of Learning, our industry-leading facilitators ensure all training, consulting and executive coaching are bespoke to the mentee ensuring maximum impact.

“Indeed, empowering women with the confidence, skills and support to reach their full potential remains our North Star. The Centre of Learning team is incredibly proud of participants and their continued success and growth both professionally and personally, and I would like to extend a thank you to all our mentors and facilitators who have helped deliver the programme these past 10 years.”

Re-launched in 2024 as part of the wider WiB Group, which encompasses Women in Business, Diversity Mark and Timely Careers, the Centre of Learning now delivers 50 bespoke professional and personal development programmes every year and has to date supported more than 4,500 women on their career journey.