What Is A Returnship? 

What are returnships and are they providing a part-solution to helping women get back to work after having an extended career break?

Kate Mansfield, Career Coach at the company Women Returners (www.womenreturners.com), gives us the lowdown.

Passion and Frustration

Kate explained that Women Returners was borne out of both passion and frustration.  Passion in that there were a lot of fantastic, capable, experienced, qualified women out there and frustration in that these women were struggling to get back into the work place and were, in effect, writing themselves off.  Are you nodding in agreement?

Returnships are a pretty new concept; the first ones in the UK were in 2012.  Historically, they were run in the financial services sector (in London) but increasingly other sectors are catching on (and more outside of London too).  For mid-management and above.

They usually last for 3 months (largely full time over the 3 months) and are a form of paid internship.  The idea is that professional women are taken on into a specific project.  They refresh their skills and renew their confidence.

As someone taking part in the programme, you would get to try returning to work and to see if it’s right for you.  And the organisation gets to see you in action and gets to understand your strengths and expertise.  Sounds good.

The Confidence Factor

Confidence is so important when we face the prospect of going back to work.  After taking time off work, returning to the workplace can be a scary thing to do – I know it was for me.

A friend of mine commented to me the other day, ‘I will have been out of the workforce for 8 years which is a long time and I’m absolutely terrified about it.’

When I took time off on maternity leave, I felt this dip in my professional confidence.  I began to doubt who I was and whether I could do my job any longer (which was a load of rubbish really!)

So, to help overcome this confidence obstacle, coaching is often provided through either Women Returners or the company offering the returnship programme – which  helps to make a more successful transition back into work.

What Happens Once The Returnship Ends?

Hopefully you get an offer of work.  Kate explained that over 90% of returnships had converted into an offer of employment.   At the end of the returnship, you would negotiate pay, flexibility etc as you would with any new job.

What’s Next For Returnships?

More press coverage, hopefully means more companies begin to offer returnship programmes.  Returnships outside of London would be great plus maybe more of a broader focus on all types of levels (not just mid to senior management).

There were a range of returnship recommendations made in the report by the Women and Work All Party Parliamentary Group (entitled Women Returners Annual Report 2016) including employers with 250 or more employees should consider putting in place paid returner programmes or returnships with guaranteed training, advice, and support.  

And What About Me?

I had to ask Kate the question are there any returnship programmes running near where I live?  I live near Leeds.  Unfortunately, not at the moment it would seem, however Kate did encourage me to use my own network of contacts to create my own returnship.  Interesting idea!

Thanks Kate.  And if you are looking for advice on how to ask for flexibility with a current or potential employer then read Kate’s advice here.

If you’re looking for flexible working, let me know how you are getting on.  Email me at lou@womanready.com.  Thanks