Introduction

Over the past 18 years WITS has worked tirelessly to promote SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) as a career choice for women and  has developed a number of successful programmes aimed at Recruiting and Retaining women into SET careers. The Re-Enter programme is the next step on this exciting journey, aimed at enabling women to Return to a technical career. WITS believes this presents employers with an untapped experienced 'talent pool'  of women with specialised technical knowledge, training and expertise who bring much more than just skills to the workplace. WITS is delighted to acknowledge the generous co-funding received from InterTrade Ireland for the Re-Enter programme. Download the brochure (Re-EnterBrochure.pdf)
 

What is the Re-Enter programme?

The Re-Enter programme is an all-Island pilot programme to  explore the potential of this untapped talent pool. Integrating an educational programme with mentoring and networking Re-Enter aims to re-skill and re-train experienced women scientists, engineers and technologists who want to return to work after a career break of a year or more. The programme consists of a 10 week accredited educational programme delivered by the Open University, followed by a period of mentoring and networking. The programme is based on the RETURN programme run by the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET.  The programme will leverage the learnings and experience of the RETURN programme where possible.  The aims of the Re-Enter programme are to:

●         gather data across the island of Ireland and report on the number and profile of women in the SET area who have taken career breaks (>12 months) and who want to return to a technical career in SET

●         to create awareness among employers and relevant state agencies across the island on the potential skills pool available among SET women who have taken career breaks

●         to have 20 women successfully complete the Re-Enter programme 

●         for the Re-Enter 'graduates' to act as role models

●         to create a set of recommendations based on the outcomes of the Re-Enter pilot programme

●         to validate the hypothesis that there is a skilled pool of workers comprised of women in SET who want to return to a technical career

Who is eligible to apply?

Any female normally resident in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland who wants to return to work  and :

●         has previously worked in science, engineering or technology (SET),

●         has a  degree (or higher) in SET – {HETAC level 7 equivalent or higher}

●         has taken a career break of more than 12 months

●         is highly motivated to return to a technical career

●         has access to the internet and a computer meeting the minimum requirements to participate in the Open University programme see :

http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01iT161

●         is willing to act as a role model

What are the Elements of the Re-Enter programme?

The Re-Enter programme consists of a number of elements:

●         A series of country wide workshops aimed at recruiting suitable candidates for the programme.

●         Tailored basic skills development depending on the needs of each role model

●         A 10 week accredited educational programme delivered by the Open University

●         A tailored mentoring and networking programme

●         Work placements where possible/appropriate to needs of individual role models

●         Two reports outlining the findings throughout the programme

Recruitment Workshops

This is a series of workshops planned to take place in Dublin/Cork/Galway/Belfast  during February/March 2008 with a target of 50 participants per location.

The aims of the workshops are:

●         to create awareness of the Re-Enter programme

●         to inform participants about the Re-Enter programme and how to apply

●         to identify potential candidates for the Re-Enter programme

●         to survey the workshop participants in terms of their skills, interests and needs in relation to returning to SET

Basic skills Development

The Re-Enter programme recognises that IT skills may be an issue for some role models. The basic skills development portion of the programme will look to ensure that the successful Re-Enter role models have the necessary skills to participate fully in the programme and will potentially target short courses aimed at bring up to date skills in relation to IT which are a necessary pre-requisite to participate in the Open University programme.

Open University (T161) Return to Science Engineering and Technology

This course is aimed at people who have some background in science, engineering or technology (SET) either through work or previous study and who are looking to return to work in one of these sectors. For those who have spent time out of paid employment or have been working in another area without using their SET skills, this course will offer the chance to develop new directions and to plan a route back into SET employment. The first part of this 10 week course is spent reflecting on what the role model has achieved so far and developing your CV using the Open University’s electronic portfolio system. The next section enables the role model to explore the employment trends and opportunities within your specific area of interest, including accessing support from industry experts and mentors. During the final section of the course the role model will produce a powerful action plan that will help them achieve the goals they have identified for their future. Throughout the course they will learn techniques and skills that will help them with networking, finding job opportunities and writing successful applications. The course is studied entirely on-line so they will need a computer and access to the Internet. Many of the activities are carried out collaboratively on-line with other participants on the course.

For more information: http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01iT161

Mentoring programme

Using WITS extensive network, individual mentors will be identified for each of the role models. The mentoring programme will seek to support the Re-Enter role models in following through on the action plans they developed as the output from the Open University programme. Both the mentors and role models will  be trained in mentoring as follows:

●         what is mentoring and what it is not

●         the role of the mentor and the role model

●         setting up the mentoring agreement

●         the practicalities of mentoring to support the implementation of the role models action plans

Tailored  networking

Again using the extensive network of WITS a number of  mentoring networks will be established to support the role models. The details of these will be developed further once both the regional and sectoral spread of the role models is known.

Work placements

WITS will support role models in seeking appropriate work placements where this is identified as part of their action plan. The details of these will be developed further once both the regional and sectoral spread of the role models is known and their action plans to return to a career have been developed and implemented.

Reports

There will be two reports produced as part of the programme:

●         Re-Enter Initial Report (April 2008)  : This report will outline the findings and data gathered during the recruitment workshops and programme launch/set-up.

●         Re-Enter Final Report (December 2009): This report will outline the findings and data gathered during the programme and make recommendations on attracting women in SET back into a technical career.

How to apply

         Women who are interested in taking part in this exciting pilot programme should:

●         Complete an application form (Form To Appear Here Shortly)

●         Attend one of the country wide information workshops in:

Dates/locations will be posted shortly