Employability

By Heather Ette, Marketing Officer, Belina Consulting

Last year Liz Sewell wrote a blog about the #50 Year Career and how the employment landscape has changed, particularly for women.  Young people leaving school this summer are likely to be working for a minimum of fifty years before they are entitled to their pension. Whilst women have traditionally led quite fragmented careers due to long breaks to bring up children, times are a changing and the world of work is very different now to how it was 50 years ago.

This led me to thinking about what the 50 year career actually means and reflecting on what my 70 year old self might look back on in my career. What will be the highlights? Which moments from my career were defining?  What would I do differently if I had the chance?

I guess it starts with education.  Did I really achieve all I was capable of or could I have done more? Should I have tried harder and perhaps looked into Further Education to strengthen what I had already learned?  As a Mother I continuously drum into my children the importance of getting the best education they can so that they can widen the opportunities available to them when they reach a working age. I have to say that when I was at school in the 80’s it seemed less important and the world of work didn’t seem quite as daunting as perhaps it does for young people today.

I had a modest education in a London state school but it served to secure me a job with my local council where I took all the opportunities that were afforded to me.  I began my career in the typing pool at the age of 17 and took every chance I had to hone my skills, taking Evening Classes in Shorthand so that I could apply for a secretarial position as soon as one became available. I was lucky enough to be offered the job of a newly created role that involved providing temporary cover to the Council’s 20 or so secretaries when they were absent. This gave me a thorough understanding and knowledge of every departmental area in the local authority and served me well when I joined the first ever Local Authority Marketing Department in Enfield.

I never looked back from that moment on. Marketing was the career for me and it has served me well over the past 30 years.  I have worked in a range of public and private sector organisations in industries including entertainment, leisure, transport, IT and now employability.  It has provided me with versatility and flexibility and, as technology has advanced, I’ve picked up new skills, adapted the way I work and gained confidence and knowledge with each new role.

The nature of marketing is that it lends itself to flexible working methods and as such, I’ve been able to combine my career with bringing up my family. I chose to work on a self-employed basis when my first child was born so that I had the opportunity to work from home and be there for my children whilst keeping my hand in with work.  As my children have grown, so has my role, working on a freelance basis for a number of clients and increasing the hours I work.

There have been times when I’ve missed the social aspects of work and being able to ‘bounce ideas’ around an office but I’ve kept in touch with all my colleagues from the past and as they’ve become close friends they’re always there when I need some input.

So if I envisage now how I will feel in 20 years’ time and looking back on my 50 year career what will be the stand-out moments?

Certainly I will be grateful that I had the chance to work with some amazing people, travelled the world and challenged myself in many different roles.  But probably the most important aspect will be the fact that I was able to do it and still be a full-time mum too.  It’s not always been easy but I feel it’s not just benefited me personally and financially but it’s been a good life lesson for my children to understand the importance of work and will hopefully set them in good stead for the future too.

The 50 Year Career is now a reality. What do you think your experiences and stand-out moments will be?

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Unlike lots of people on employability programmes most women don’t have a barrier to working. Most women want to work but can find it difficult due to having external considerations such as caring responsibilities for children or relatives.  Women can quite often experience breaks in their work patterns too which means there can be gaps in their skills and training and they can struggle with their confidence due to being away from the workplace for a length of time.

Here are 10 things you should be aware of and some suggestions for how to support women into employment:

1. Importance of flexible working – Caring for children, even in the 21^st century, is still mainly women’s work. So Mothers with younger children often want to work part-time, term-time and are not willing to travel far because time spent travelling takes time out of working or caring. Part of the job of employability staff is to encourage parents to be flexible about the flexible work they want. Looking at working perhaps full time for two days, weekend or evening work, or even overnight.

Most parents who want to work will need to consider before or after school activities and work out what they want to do in the holidays. Sharing care within their own family, with other families as well as formal care is part of the patchwork people need to put together. Other caring responsibilities fall particularly on women in their 40s, 50s and 60s. 1 in 4 women aged 50-64 has caring responsibilities for older or disabled loved ones. Women aged 45-54 are more than twice as likely as other carers to have reduced working hours as a result of caring responsibilities. Women are also more likely to be ‘sandwich’ carers – caring for young children and elderly parents at the same time.

Carers UK research on sandwich carers and the workplace showed that women were four times more likely than men to have given up work because of multiple caring responsibilities.  It helps for Advisers to understand this and appreciate the need for women who have caring responsibilities to be in employment that allows them to be flexible.

2. Effective signposting – Many women who are looking for work on employability programmes are lone parents. There are around 2million lone parents in the UK and around 90% are women¹. Lone Parents make up 11% of JSA claimants and those on income support in UC areas must get ready for work once their youngest child is three.

For women who have recently become lone parents it can be a scary time for them and they need to know they are not alone and they can get help from a range of support groups for advice and to share their experiences.  Gingerbread.org.uk provides expert advice and practical support and is a good place to start.

3. Promote the benefits of working – There are many reasons why women should be encouraged to work. Work helps to build self-worth and self- esteem, offers personal and financial independence, the opportunity to lead by example and a sense of fulfilment. Women need support to stretch their imaginations about what they CAN do. They need to understand that even though working 10am – 2pm fits in with their family life they should explore all their options and try to make provisions in order to reap the benefits of a more fulfilling career.

4. Practicalities of working – The cost of housing is an issue for everyone now and the benefits cap has added to the problem for many people. There is a lot of work that can be done to help support people who want to stay where they want to live but they need to also understand that sometimes this is not possible if they really can’t afford to live there. Looking at in-work benefits and whether the customer would be better off working can be an incentive to help support them into work.

5. Understand the pitfalls – Now with Universal Credit women need help to understand where they stand with regards to their benefits if they do start work. The issues around Universal Credit waiting times can create a huge problem for women, especially if they have young dependents. They need to know that any in-work benefits they receive will enable them to pay for childcare and other associated costs of working such as travel and clothes. Using a benefits calculator such as Policy in Practice’s Benefit and Budgeting Calculator or the Turn2us online calculator can help women to find out what they are entitled to but they need to factor in what would happen if their benefits are delayed.

6. Help them to be prepared – Some parents worry about how they will fit everything in, there are still only 24 hours in a day! Help them to understand that though they will need to organise some things differently, they will likely find that they actually get more done when they go back to work. Practical timesaving tips from parents can help.

7. Improve employability skills – Many women have been away from the workplace for quite some time if they have had more than one child. This can often present a practical issue that their skills, knowledge and training is just not up to scratch. Rather than just take the first job they are offered or seek low-level employment, women need to feel supported to seek a job they actually want to do and then look at the skills they need to achieve it. Taking the wrong job can be traumatic if it doesn’t work out and can severely affect a person’s motivation.

8. Build confidence and self-esteem – When someone’s been away from the workplace for a long time it can have a damaging effect on their confidence which in turn affects motivation to work as they feel it’s just too difficult and that they lack what it takes to get a job. Women need to see that if they’ve had children and brought up a family then they can certainly manage a job and they need to understand that the skills they have gained as mothers are incredibly useful and transferrable.

There are significant skills and talents that women can bring to the workplace. Women are notoriously proficient in multi-tasking, they typically have strong nurturing skills suited to personal and team development; they do better in achieving qualifications and they are extremely good at adapting to change.  Women should be valued, nurtured and supported to reach their own independent goals in life of which employment can play a key role. They need to analyse their skills, needs, strengths and passion to help them find out the relevant information they need to seek the job that is right for them, their family and their future.

9. Don’t be afraid of getting it wrong – Many people on unemployment programmes can be reflectors, they worry about what might happen. Most women are quite pragmatic and good at getting what they need for themselves and their families. This is a strength and they should be encouraged to take risks but they should be supported in doing so. The best way to do this is for them to speak to other people who have taken risks and learned from their experiences. Group sessions and motivational training programmes are a great way to do this and to help women build support networks with people in a similar position to them.

10. Engaging employers – Most people have some barriers to employment but its providing solutions to those barriers and then communicating those solutions to the right employers that matters. Employers need to be properly engaged and Advisers need to broker professional employer relationships to overcome barriers and promote the benefits of employing women. Making jobs that actually appeal and work well for women should be a priority in the millennium age.

It is in everybody’s interests to create an environment for people to be able to combine family and caring roles with work that helps them thrive as a unit. Whilst the gig economy and zero contract hours enables flexibility not all employers offer these terms and, often they can be poorly paid with no guaranteed income. Women should be made aware of all of their employment options and even consider self-employment so they can decide what works best for them.

 

^{1 and 2} ONS (2016) Families and households, 2016. Table 1.