UKTram Team Member reflects on a year of mentoring with Women in Transport

Chelsea Branch, UKTram’s Marketing and Communication Manager, recently finished Women in Transport’s Advance mentoring programme. Over the past year, she has gained confidence and developed in her career.

Advance is Women in Transport’s mentoring programme, designed to support women working across the transport industry with their professional development and career progression. Chelsea was selected for the 2026 cohort, which welcomed more than 100 participants, making it the programme’s largest cohort at the time.

The structured programme pairs women with experienced industry mentors, providing a supportive space to discuss challenges, develop new skills and gain different perspectives on their careers. Since its launch, Advance has supported hundreds of women across the transport sector.

For Chelsea, one of the main reasons for applying was to build greater confidence in her professional abilities by working alongside colleagues with extensive technical and operational expertise. At the start of the programme, she completed a SWOT analysis with her mentor, Caroline, identifying self-doubt and confidence as areas she wanted to improve.

Reflecting on the experience, Chelsea said:

"When I first joined the programme, I sometimes questioned whether my experience in communications carried the same weight as the technical knowledge of the people around me. Caroline has been wonderful at helping me look at situations differently. I’ve become much more comfortable recognising the value of my skills and that’s made a big difference to how I approach my work.”

UKTram congratulates Chelsea on completing the Advance programme and on her recent award nominations. Her experience highlights the value of mentoring in supporting professional development and its positive impact on an organisation's wider work. UKTram is proud to be continuing its partnership with Women in Transport for a fourth consecutive year, reflecting a shared commitment to improving equality, diversity and inclusion across the transport sector.

Through the partnership, UKTram supports Women in Transport's work to champion women's careers, encourage professional development and create a more inclusive industry.