The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has launched a new training course to amplify women’s voices in the fleet sector.

Lorna McAtear, head of fleet at National Grid and board director at the AFP

Launched on International Women’s Day, the course will help tackle the current underrepresentation of women at fleet events by giving delegates the tools to speak confidently and clearly in public.

Lorna McAtear, head of fleet at National Grid and board director at the AFP, said: “We have many talented and otherwise confident women within the AFP and the fleet sector in general who, we have found, are not keen on public speaking. This came to light last year when we were planning our 2022 conference and invited several women to speak but found that many were reluctant to do so.

“We’d like to help change this situation and the course aims to provide women in fleet with the tools to step forward and be confident about expressing their views whether in a team meeting, board meeting or more publicly.”

The new ‘Accelerate – Women’s Voices in Fleet’ course runs over two days and is being held on 19-20 April at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. Modules cover subjects including confidence, courage, clarity and content.

Delegates will also have the opportunity to become participants in panels for the AFP Conference in May.

McAtear said: “We appreciate that stepping outside of your comfort zone requires bravery and the course is designed to create a supportive environment. We want all women fleet professionals to be able to make their voice and views heard, sharing with them a toolkit that makes public speaking a skill that can be learnt, honed and repeated.”

To access the course details, click here.