Binnies in bid to boost water sector opportunities for returning career-break professionals

Binnies, has joined a partnership programme for post-career break professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) offering, initially, roles including civil engineer and project manager.

Binnies UK’s managing director, Scott Aitken, said the STEM Returners programme was “one of those tangible differences we can make where we can bring back significant talent that is very much needed due to skills shortages in the water and environmental sectors.”

Director and founder of STEM Returners, Natalie Desty, said: “There is a known shortage of skills across STEM industries, and we know that people who have had a career break are faced with an uphill task of getting back into the profession. Only by partnering with industry leaders, like Binnies, will we make vital changes in STEM recruitment practices, helping those who find it challenging to return to the sector and improve diversity and inclusion.”

STEM Returners sorted in its latest annual survey – The STEM Returners Index – that 66% of STEM professionals on a career break found attempting to return to work either difficult or very difficult and that 46% of participants said they encountered bias because of their lack of recent experience.

STEM Returners said its programme can increase diversity in a host organisation because 46% of professionals seeking to return to work are female and 44% are from ethnic minority groups, compared to 14% female and 9% from ethnic minority groups working in industry.