New Jobs Scheme at Barry Site for Engineers Returning to Work

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Skills and Training , 4th February 2022

Dow, a global materials science company, has formed a partnership with STEM Returners to help engineers return to work after a career break.

Dow will launch a new jobs scheme at their site in Barry, Glamorgan, which develops, commercialises, and produces silicone-based products to be used by its customers around the world in industries including transport, automotive, building and construction.

STEM Returners, based in Hampshire, will source the candidates for the 12-week programme, which aims to return or transfer experienced engineers back into industry following a career break. Roles include mechanical and instrument engineers. The fully paid placements act as a ‘returnship’, allowing candidates to be re-integrated into an inclusive environment upon their return to STEM.

While the scheme helps solve the challenge of sourcing talent in sectors that need it, it also has the added benefit of increasing diversity in a host organisation. STEM Returners’ population of experienced professionals who are attempting to return to work are 51% female and 38% from black and minority ethnic groups, compared with 10% female and 6% ethnic minorities working in the STEM industry.

Natalie Desty, Director of STEM Returners, said:

“We are delighted to be launching this new returners scheme with Dow to return highly skilled people back into the industry they love. 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 in getting back into the profession.

“Only by partnering with industry leaders like Dow, will we make vital changes in STEM recruitment practices, to help those who are finding it challenging to return to the sector and improve diversity and inclusion.”

“At Dow, the most valuable assets are our people. This partnership reflects the Company’s commitment to drive inclusion and diversity at work where every employee has an equal opportunity to develop, advance and be heard,” said Pamela Berry-Solomon, Dow senior site manufacturing director – UK. “We believe that this collaboration offers us the opportunity to access a pool of talents who can bring their unique backgrounds and perspectives to work every single day.”

There is a well-known skills shortage in the UK engineering industry, but despite a clear need for people, there is a group of talented and educated professionals who are willing and able to take on these roles who are being overlooked.

In STEM Returners’ annual survey – The STEM Returners Index – 61% of STEM professionals on a career break say they are finding the process of attempting to return to work either difficult or very difficult, and 36% of returners have felt bias in the recruitment process has been a barrier to them personally returning to their career.

STEM Returners’ programme aims to eliminate these barriers, by giving candidates real work experience and mentoring during their placement and helping them to seamlessly adjust to life back in work.

Successful candidates may be offered full-time positions at Dow upon the completion of their 12-week placement. Since STEM Returners first launched in 2017, more than 200 STEM Returners candidates have joined programmes across the UK.