STEM Returners: From Career Break to Career Breakthrough
Gillian Thomson, Verlume
Okay, I forgot what I’d written in that bio. It sounded really good going back. But I was an engineer in a previous life and I’m really passionate about attracting people into STEM careers and bringing them back into STEM careers when they’ve had a break from them. Verlume, as Holly said, make subsea battery and power management systems. So we have a lot of engineers, we have a lot of project managers. We need a lot of STEM skills, and we’ve been growing really rapidly. So we are looking at how we can bring in new talent pools, and that’s where STEM Returners has come in. So STEM Returners is an award-winning program to help people that have had a break for a numerous number of reasons from their STEM careers to come back into the industry.
Did you know that there are 49% women in the working age population, 19% Black and ethnic minority, but they are really underrepresented in STEM? I’m sure that’s not a surprise. The one that got me was that 9% Black and minority ethnic engineers, where we have 30% engineering graduates. Those stats are from the STEM Returners Index, which is an index that is shared every year, designed to encourage inclusivity, diversity, and equality within the STEM industry.
There’s lots of reasons for career breaks. The biggest one, as you can see, 28% childcare responsibilities, but there’s all sorts. Relocation, redundancy, health and illness right down to those 8% at the bottom that aren’t even able to get into their chosen career because they can’t get the role they want. And then when people come back to STEM careers, the biggest reason is for financial reasons, but there’s lots more. So that desire to work for passion, achieve their long-term career goals and missing the challenge, values that we really need in the industry, 85% had a breakout of necessity and 65% find it difficult or very difficult to return. And almost everyone in a minority group finds that they’re feeling biased when they come back into the industry.
These are just some quotes about how it feels and that low confidence exacerbated by constant rejection because they can’t even get past the starting line to get an interview, it just is a vicious cycle for people trying to return. So the STEM Returners program is trying to put an end to that and help people back into the industry. They do that through 12-week placements, paid placements, supporting people as they come back in and educating employers in how to do it. This is Sarah. Sarah’s one of our STEM Returners in our business development team. She joined us last year and she was having lots of the same problems that STEM Returners do. She had applied for several different roles. She wasn’t getting past that interview stage, despite having had 7.5 years of STEM experience. She’d had a five-year career break to raise her family, but she just wasn’t getting interviews. And that happens again and again for people because they have no recent experience and they’re being put up against others that do.
So Sarah came back on a 12-week placement with us. We’d ring-fenced the role for a STEM Returner, and we supported her flexibility that she needed with a phased approach. And I’m really pleased to say she was successful at that placement and is now in a full-time permanent role with Verlume and doing a great job. Her values, her skillset, her passion for the role is something that really shines through and she’s a key member of the team. And that recognition of those values that people bring when they come back to STEM is an important part of how you can support career breakthroughs as is that equitable opportunity. Comparing STEM returners with people that have got recent experience isn’t equitable. Training your managers and the people they’ll be supporting in order to make sure they can support and help people build their confidence within those roles and understand your internal culture. Challenge that bias. Make sure your processes are appropriate. Do you really need that intimidating panel interview or that lengthy person specification? And we’ve got several returners. Think about building a network, get them supporting each other and the people that support them.
I know I’m preaching to the converted when I talk about flexible working, but it’s not just for returners. That is something that appeals and attracts diverse people across your organization. And think about your role models, share stories of people like Sarah. Sharing those success stories really helps breed more success and encourage more people back into the industry, and then support and nurture them when you get them. That’s our nine-point acronym for STEM Returners. Programs like the STEM Returners program really make a difference. So they’ve supported 500 people back to work. 96% are successful in getting their placement into a permanent role that compares with those 18% of people apparently that fail probation. So actually, as a recruitment tool it’s great. I love it. I think it’s a no-brainer. I hope you do too.
To watch the video of Gillian delivering her session on the night, follow this link to Vimeo >>>> DisruptHR Aberdeen 2.0 – April 24 2025 on Vimeo
