Leidos Create Helps Women Return to STEM Roles in the UK
Leidos Create Helps Women Return to STEM Roles in the UK
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 20, 2024 / Leidos
麻省北安普通、2024年8月20日 / ACCESSWIRE / Leidos
In the UK, Leidos has partnered with Career Returners (formerly known as Women Returners), a free network community of over 8,500 professionals looking to return to the workplace, to launch Leidos Create.
在英國,Leidos與Career Returners(前身爲 Women Returners)合作,該社區是一個由超過8,500名專業人士組成的免費網絡社區,旨在幫助他們重新回到職場。我們推出了 Leidos Create。
Leidos Create was developed to support experienced STEM professionals in the Southwest of the UK who have been out of the employment market for 2-12 years return to skilled roles. The objective was to remove a common bias in the recruitment process: the career break penalty for women who have undertaken extended breaks to look after their families or other caring reasons.
Leidos Create 是專門爲英國西南地區有經驗的 STEm 專業人士而開發的,這些人已經在就業市場上停留了 2-12 年以上時間,幫助他們重新回到技術型工作。其目的是消除招聘過程中普遍存在的偏見:因爲女性爲了照顧家庭或其他照顧理由而長時間休息的職業生涯差距。
Through our partnership with Career Returners, Leidos has accessed a highly skilled talent pool of women employees looking to resume their professional careers-particularly those with backgrounds in information systems, project management, supply chain and logistics, commercial and contracts, and risk and compliance.
通過與 Career Returners 的合作,Leidos 已經獲得了一批高技能的女性人才,這些人想要恢復他們的職業生涯,特別是那些在信息系統、項目管理、供應鏈和物流、商業和合同、風險和合規方面擁有背景的人員。
Kay Mercer and Ajay Sahota are two professionals who found a new home at Leidos through the programme. Their candid stories and advice offer inspiration to other women looking to return to work.
Kay Mercer 和 Ajay Sahota 是通過該計劃在 Leidos 尋找到新家的兩位專業人士。他們誠實的故事和建議爲其他想要重返職場的女性帶來了鼓舞。
Finding confidence to re-enter the workforce
找到重新參加工作的信心
After 23 years away from a full-time career, a period in which children were born, raised, and now starting careers of their own, Kay Mercer wanted to get back into the workplace. Starting her career as a programming analyst and later working in IT service delivery, Kay worried the skills she'd developed in her earlier career were no longer relevant. She lacked the confidence to apply for most jobs and spent months trawling the internet hoping she'd find something that might work.
在全職工作的 23 年之後,Kay Mercer 有了三個孩子之後,她想重新回到職場。Kay 開始了她的職業生涯作爲編程分析師,後來又在 IT 服務交付方面工作,Kay 擔心她早期職業生涯中所掌握的技能已經過時,在尋找工作時缺乏信心,花了幾個月的時間在網絡上搜索,希望能找到一些適合自己的東西。
"Most of the jobs were either too basic for what I was looking for, like admin data entry, or too high brow, where I'd need to project manage a team or something like that. I remember thinking, 'gosh, I can't do that.'"
「大多數工作都太基礎了,不太適合我,像數據輸入之類的行政工作,或者是太高端的工作,需要我來管理團隊之類的。我記得當時想:『天哪,我做不到那個。』」
Kay was struggling to find something in between where she'd also benefit from the support she needed to go back into work.
Kay 很難找到中間的東西,也需要她所需要的支持來回到工作中。
"I just didn't have the confidence to turn up at work and get started again," she explained.
「我沒有信心回去上班,開始擔心起來。」她解釋道。
Kay recognised she hadn't done a formal interview for some time and was worried her lack of practice might impact her job prospects. This, combined with no experience of remote working platforms like Microsoft Teams, felt like a barrier she'd struggle to overcome.
Kay 意識到她已經有一段時間沒有參加正式的面試了,擔心她缺乏練習會影響她的就業前景。這加上沒有遠程工作平台 Microsoft Teams 的經驗,感覺像是一個她難以克服的障礙。
Fortunately for Kay, she discovered the training Career Returners offers, both for interviews and in the new ways of working that emerged after the pandemic. This led to a role with Leidos as a supply chain analyst.
幸運的是,對於 Kay 來說,她發現 Career Returners 提供的面試培訓和疫情後出現的新工作方式培訓。這爲她在 Leidos 成爲供應鏈分析師提供了機會。
The flexible, hybrid nature of the role at Leidos, Kay quickly discovered, was also a major draw. "My manager enables me to work flexibly from home and from the office through Leidos' dynamic working programme; this has been a huge help with the adjustment."
Kay 很快發現,Leidos 的靈活、混合性質的角色也是一個重要的優勢。「我的經理允許我通過 Leidos 的動態工作計劃靈活地在家工作和辦公室工作;這在適應過程中幫助了我很多。」
Beyond the flexibility, Kay also credits the team she's joined as helping her find her feet and regain the confidence she'd previously lacked.
除了靈活性外,Kay 還認爲,她加入的團隊也幫助她找回了之前缺乏的信心。
My manager has been incredibly supportive. I have a one-to-one chat with him every week, and he supports me with training opportunities and is always happy to answer my questions.
Kay Mercer
Supply Chain Analyst, Leidos UK & Europe
我的經理一直給了我非常多的支持。我每週都會和他進行一對一的聊天,他通過培訓機會支持我,並且總是願意回答我的問題。
Kay Mercer
供應鏈分析師,Leidos 英國和歐洲
Pivoting to a different industry
轉向不同的行業
Ajay Sahota had the "perfect start" to her career. After graduating with a degree in food technology, she landed a job with Nestlé based in India. When she was ready for a change, Ajay emigrated to the U.K. and found she had to start from scratch. Fortunately, she found roles as a technical manager in her industry.
Ajay Sahota 的職業生涯有一個「完美的開始」。在獲得食品技術學位後,她在印度的雀巢工作。當她準備換個工作時,Ajay 移民到英國,發現自己不得不重新開始。幸運的是,她在自己的行業中找到了技術經理的職位。
But after having three children in quick succession, Ajay decided to take a career break. "It was the best decision I made in my life," she says.
但是,在迅速生育了三個孩子之後,Ajay 決定暫停職業生涯。她說:「那是我生命中做過的最好的決定。」
To maintain her expertise and stay current, she started a consultancy business with her husband, which also gave her flexibility while raising a growing family. After a decade of success, COVID-19 struck. "This pause gave me the opportunity to rethink my future and its direction," she reflects.
她爲了保持專業能力和不斷進步,和她的丈夫開了一家諮詢公司,同時在照顧家庭的時候也具有了靈活性。十年的成功後,COVID-19疫情來襲。她回憶道:「這個暫停讓我有了重新思考未來及其方向的機會。」
With her kids in a more independent stage and a desire to pivot to a different industry, Ajay decided to enroll in an MBA program at Imperial College, London. Graduating in 2023, Ajay decided now was her opportunity to return to the corporate world.
隨着孩子們進入更獨立的階段,Ajay決定在倫敦帝國理工大學報讀MBA課程,以轉向不同的行業。在2023年畢業後,Ajay決定現在是她重新踏入企業世界的機會。
Despite her impressive qualifications and experience, Ajay struggled to find her next challenge. "People just see that 10-year gap, even though I was working - I wasn't not working at all."
儘管她擁有令人印象深刻的資歷和經驗,但Ajay仍然很難找到下一個挑戰。「人們只看到了那10年的空白,儘管我一直在工作,我並沒有停止過。」
Ajay spoke of the challenges of breaking into a new industry. "I would still get offers for technical manager roles in the food industry. But I didn't want to go back to that role. I wanted to leverage my MBA and move into a different sector."
Ajay談到了打入新行業的挑戰。「我仍然會接到食品行業技術經理角色的職位邀請。但我不想回到那個角色。我想利用我的MBA,進入不同的板塊。」
Eventually, a family friend recommended the Career Returners programme, which is how she first came across Leidos. Unsure where she would fit best, Ajay worked with Leidos' hiring manager after months of applying for roles and getting knocked back.
最終,一位家庭朋友推薦了Career Returners計劃,這就是她第一次了解到Leidos。雖然經歷了數月的職位申請和遭遇拒絕,但Ajay仍然不確定自己最適合哪個職位,直到她和Leidos的招聘經理會面。
"She was very forthcoming and helpful, understanding that I was returning to work and recognising my need for additional support," Ajay shares. "She could see how my skills, acquired over my career, fit into a role they had available, even though I hadn't applied for that position.
「她非常樂意提供幫助,並理解我回歸工作後需要額外的支持,」Ajay分享道。「她能看到我在職業生涯中獲得的技能如何與他們需要填補的職位相匹配,即使我沒有申請那個職位,她也能看到。」
Together, they decided that her skills fit the role of a benefits realisation manager.
他們共同決定她的技能適合擔任好處實現經理的職位。
You might not realise how relevant your skills are, and it can be challenging to effectively market them yourself.
Ajay Sahota
Benefits Realisation Manager, Leidos UK & Europe
你可能沒有意識到你的技能是多麼相關,而且有效地將它們推銷可能會很具有挑戰性。
Ajay Sahota
好處實現經理,Leidos英國和歐洲
Training and resources for returning to the workplace
返聘工作的培訓和資源
Ajay explains the type of training she received through the Career Returners programme - both before she started at Leidos and while she settles into her new role - consisted of four coaching sessions.
Ajay解釋說,Career Returners計劃提供的培訓類型(在她加入Leidos之前和她適應新角色期間)包括四個輔導課程。
The first, Ajay says, is how to introduce yourself. "It's really an icebreaker. When you come back, you don't know how much to say, and how much to dwell on. How do you let people know who you are?" Ajay hints that this was the moment she started regaining her confidence.
第一節課,Ajay說,是如何介紹自己。“其實它是一個打破僵局的方法。當你回來時,你不知道要說多少話,要賣弄多少。你怎麼讓人們知道你是誰?Ajay暗示,這時她開始恢復信心。
The second session helps participants identify goals and career paths, while the third focuses on networking to ensure professional development. Ajay is looking forward to her fourth session on celebrating achievements and action planning for the future.
第二節課幫助參與者確定目標和職業道路,而第三節則注重網絡建設,以確保專業發展。Ajay期待她在第四節課上慶祝成就和未來的行動計劃。
Kay feels the training Leidos offers - helping her learn new skills and continue her professional development - has been essential. "I don't know if it's this way at other companies nowadays but compared to my previous employers, it's been incredible."
Kay認爲Leidos提供的培訓——幫助她學習新技能和繼續專業發展——是必不可少的。她說:「我不知道現在其他公司是否都這樣,但與我以前的僱主相比,這真的難以置信。」
But it's the friendship she forged with Ajay through Career Returners that really helped Kay.
但是,通過Career Returners她和Ajay所建立起的友誼才是真正幫助Kay的力量。
"We swapped numbers, and we message from time to time, checking on each other and seeing how the other one is getting on," Kay shares. "It's important because you've got someone going through the same thing as you, and I've really appreciated that extra source of support."
「我們交換了電話號碼,偶爾發短信,互相關心,看看對方的生活怎麼樣,」Kay分享道。「這很重要,因爲你有一個跟你一樣經歷的人,我真的很欣賞這個額外的支持。」
Ajay is grateful for the support she has received along the way and spoke fondly of Kay, her fellow returner, and her colleagues who she now considers friends. "People do help, you just have to have the courage to ask for it and say you need it," she admits.
Ajay感激一路上所受到的支持,並深情地談到了Kay、她的職場返聘同伴和同事,他們現在是她的朋友。她承認:「人們確實會幫助你,你只需要有勇氣去請求和說出你需要的東西。」
When asked what advice she'd give to other women considering returning to work after a career break, Kay offers some useful pointers.
在被問及對其他考慮在職業生涯中重新踏入工作的女性的建議時,Kay提供了一些有用的指導。
"I think it's about being brave enough to try it. Also, when you start, be kind to yourself and don't expect too much too early. You're always going to feel a lot of pressure, pressure to be doing more or learning quicker, but really, you need to recognise that it's a process and one you're more than capable of completing."
「我認爲這需要一些勇氣來嘗試。當你開始時,要對自己好一點,不要期望過多。你總是會感到很大的壓力,想要做更多的事情或更快地學習,但實際上,你需要意識到這是一個過程,並且你完全有能力完成它。」
LEARN MORE ABOUT CAREERS AT LEIDOS IN THE UK & EUROPE
了解LEIDOS在英國和歐洲的職業發展更多信息
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Leidos
聯繫信息:
發言人:leidos
SOURCE: Leidos
來源:leidos