More corporate businesses are introducing ‘returnships’ and returner programmes to professionals who have been out of the workplace for an extended period – typically over two years, owing to raising children, family illness, travel and so on.

Value is seen in the experiences and skills returners will have gained during their break and therefore that value can both be applied in business, and create a more diverse workforce due to a wealth of experience. There is also the assumption that the returner will have gained meaningful work experience and developed transferable skills before taking their break.

Although a comprehensive list of programmes can be found on the Women Returners Professional Network (WRPN) website, they are not open exclusively to women.

Programmes run across the UK – some are a fixed number of weeks like a traditional internship, others are permanent roles specifically for returners, meaning there will be extra support to help with the adjustment of getting back into the workplace.

Toolkit
WRPN also run free webinars, in-person events and conferences – these help women get back into the workplace by focusing on using LinkedIn effectively, CV writing, interview skills and more, as well as spotlight on specific fields such as journalism.

If you’re looking for further information to help with returning to work, see the list of resources which WRPN signpost to – included are links to courses for up-skilling, recruitment agencies which specialise in flexible working and success stories from other returners.