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BPA mentoring scheme Starting out The year-long working partnerships for participants in the BPAs mentoring scheme started with a virtual cook-off in November, described as a fantastic ice-breaker by mentee Zoe Hall, community and civil parking enforcement manager at Cornwall Council, and riotous fun by mentor Hannah Fuller, head of parking partnerships at JustPark. They tell us more about their experience so far Why did you become involved? Zoe Hall (ZH): Ive been in the parking industry for a few years now, but what I havent done is really embed myself into the industry. I want to make a bit more of an impact. Hannah Fuller (HF): Ive been involved in mentoring schemes when I worked in the media, and found it so valuable as a way to meet people but also to hear other points of view, which changed the way I go about things. When this opportunity came up, I was keen to get involved. What support or actions do you want to get out of it? BPA mentoring scheme kindly sponsored by CDER Group HF: The mentors had a couple of online training sessions to look at how we can make this successful, and how we can find our own style, because, that way, you and your mentee will get the most out of it. Teams feels perfect for Zoe and me because we can see each other were quite expressive people. We discovered we both wear our hearts on our sleeves, and chatted about the advantages and disadvantages of this, and how we can make it work for ourselves. I think there will be loads Ill learn from Zoe about this. We both wear our hearts on our sleeves, and we chatted about how we can make it work for ourselves. I think there will be loads Ill learn from Zoe about this ZH: The networking! Ive really missed that interaction with other parking professionals. Also, the connection to other women, because I think were underrepresented not just in numbers, but in senior positions. HF: Its really difficult in this industry to raise your profile. Ive tried really hard to do that over the past couple of years, and if I can help someone else to do it, that would be amazing. I also like learning and growing, and this is another opportunity for me to do that. How did you get started? ZH: I had a virtual meeting with the BPA, where I met all the other mentees and we chatted about how the scheme could support us. Hannah and I had not met before, so weve just had our first meeting. Weve decided to meet every three weeks on the online meeting platform Teams, which we think will suit us. Our styles are quite similar. How do you feel now youve had your first meeting? ZH: I was really excited about this scheme and I was so pleased when I got picked for it. Its already surpassed my expectations. Im really looking forward to what else is to come. HF: I agree and credit to the BPA for all the hard work. The way it has been structured is really good, and the decision to keep it small this first year, so there is the opportunity to iterate and learn from it, is really smart. We will be catching up with Hannah and Zoe later in the year, and hearing from other mentoring pairs, too. You can read more about the mentoring scheme at britishparking.co.uk/Mentoring 42 britishparking.co.uk PN Feb 2021 pp42 Mentoring.indd 42 22/01/2021 12:49