Mentoring at BT Group, Reace's Story

At BT Group, we think mentoring is an important part of getting more young people thinking about a career in tech!

We’ve partnered with Cajigo, a dual app that provides mentoring and support to empower a new generation of girls and women to see their endless possibilities, so they can confidently work in a variety of tech careers across industries.

We sit down with Reace Wade, Early Careers and Entry Talent Programme Manager at BT Group, who’s volunteered as a mentor on the latest Cajigo’s 100 Women in Tech initiative.

Hi Reace, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself and what you do at BT Group?

I am the Early Careers and Entry Talent programme manager for Digital at BT Group looking after all things to do with our apprenticeships, industrial placements, graduate programmes, and some of the more focused Entry Talent programmes, working to increase DE&I representation like managing our partnership with Cajigo. I’m also the Apprenticeship Board chair for TechSkills.

Talking of our partnership with Cajigo, can you tell us a little more?

Of course, we’ve been working with Cajigo for the last three years. Their primary focus is to get more women in tech. The Cajigo App aims to demystify tech roles for girls at school age, providing them with the information they need to make the right academic choices early, right through to those post 18, as part of this they run a mentoring scheme which is where BT Group come in, this year we have 20 colleague mentors on the scheme.

Wow! How does the mentoring side of things work?

As a mentor myself, I have first-hand experience of how the scheme brings together mentors at all stages of their careers, there’s directors, apprentice and Graduate Alumni alike all playing their part to give mentees a look under the bonnet of what they do day to day.

What does the programme look like?

It’s a great mix of pre-recorded videos on the app, group virtual and in-person sessions (some of these we’ve managed as a programme partner) and of course regular one to one sessions with mentees! Bristol is a strategic location for us and is actually where Cajigo first started, so it was great to see this work expanding to our other locations and for mentees to see first-hand what a career at BT Group could offer.

Do you think male allyship is important when it comes to mentoring?

Last year, we had 15 BT Group women colleagues supporting with the 100 Women in Tech programme, which was fantastic. This year, I wanted to put myself forward, to share my perspective and advice on things like imposter syndrome and how mentees can see the value of engaging with male allies, providing them with opportunities to have a fresh perspective of the challenges women face, it’s given me a huge appreciation of what it’s like to be woman starting out in a career like tech.

What does a mentor get out of a scheme like this?

In my job, the most important thing for me is being able to provide individuals with a firm foundation and the best opportunities to develop and grow. It’s not something that I had access to when I started my career, I’ve been with BT Group 25 years now and I wonder where I’d be if starting out, I’d had a mentor, so I’m grateful I get to offer that to others.

What would you like to leave your mentee with before the scheme ends?

I’d like them to solidify what transferable skills they have, what are they? And where does their passion lie? I’d like to help them along the way to understanding themselves so they can choose a career that’s right for them and have the confidence to reach their potential.

On transferable skills, how important is it for someone to discover what these are?

I think because tech is so broad, if you know what these skills are they can give you a basis to help discover the areas to start looking into, from there it’s easier to narrow this down to specific roles. For instance, data might be your skill or interest, this could then plug you into lots of future roles you hadn’t even considered!

What’s your mentoring top tip?

It’s really important to listen and not just hear, I’ve been privileged enough to sit in meetings as the only man and listen to the lived experience women face in a predominantly male lead industry, it’s made me put myself in their shoes and although we’ve made great progress, we can all do more in our everyday actions to be male allies and make the difference.

What’s your advice to anyone thinking about becoming a mentor?

I would say to go for it, mentoring is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and experience and help build the next generation of technologists we desperately need as a society. It’s a two-way deal and a great opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the challenges others face and help them build a great foundation or even move to the next level.

And to anyone reading this thinking about a career in tech?

Don’t be afraid of a squiggly career, identify your transferable skills and don’t feel you have to make up your mind straight away, keep an open mind, try lots of new things over your career, as you develop new skills these can transfer into other areas, and you can work out what it is you love in tech in time!

Great advice, thanks Reace!

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