Press releases

Deloitte’s Return to Work programme now open year-round

20 March 2019

Deloitte is announcing changes to its award-winning Return to Work programme, which helps people find their way back into professional services after a career break. Instead of accepting returners every six months, Deloitte is rolling the programme into its year-round recruitment process, meaning candidates can apply for a job as soon as they are ready to re-start their careers.

Deloitte’s Return to Work is aimed at anyone who has taken an extended career break of two years or more. All roles will now be advertised through Deloitte’s main recruitment pages and will be offered on a permanent basis, unless for a specific project. Previously the programme was structured as a 25-week internship, with a potential to extend this to a permanent role. Successful applicants will be given all the necessary support to refresh their skills and boost professional confidence through bespoke training in areas like IT and personal development.

Emma Codd, managing partner for talent at Deloitte, said: “We were the first professional services firm to launch a Return to Work programme in 2015 and these changes we are bringing in today are an important progression in how we help people get back into the workplace.

“Anything business can do to remove barriers to employment and provide support to people who have had time away from work is critical. That’s why we’re making Return to Work a central part of our year-round recruitment drive alongside a range of bespoke training and tailored coaching.

“By opening up Return to Work opportunities throughout the year we hope to increase the number of talented returners coming into Deloitte each year.”

Justine Roberts, Mumsnet Founder and CEO, added: “We know from conversations on Mumsnet that mothers coming to the end of career breaks can talk themselves out of applying for jobs because of concerns that their skills may be out-of-date, or worries that employers won't be prepared to consider flexible working. It's great to see Deloitte building on its record of creative thinking and constructive action with this innovative scaling up of its returnships work.”

Case study
For Gomathi Ramanathan, a senior consultant in Strategy & Operations at Deloitte, Return to Work has had a huge impact on her life having been out of the workplace for seven years.

“My seven-year career gap was taken to look after my son and I was quite anxious about how I would get back into the workplace. Before my career break I worked in consulting and always knew I wanted to go back but wasn’t sure how the gap in my CV would affect my chances.

“That’s why Deloitte’s Return to Work was so important for me. I didn’t feel disadvantaged because of my time away from the office. The programme gave me technical training as well as other support to help me build confidence. I now work four days a week and the flexible working culture at Deloitte has really helped me to balance my personal and work life.”

End

Note to editors

Nearly 50 people have joined Deloitte’s Return to Work programme since its launch in 2015.

Return to Work supported hiring is open to anyone, male or female, who has taken a career break of two years or more.

This could be for any reason including time out for travelling, focusing on family, or just time out to refocus and re-energise.

Deloitte’s Return to Work programme won the 2017 Mumsnet Returnship Award. The award shines a light on companies who are leading the way with excellent returnship programmes to encourage and support parents who want to come back to work after having a child. 

About Deloitte
In this press release references to “Deloitte” are references to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”) a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity.

Please see deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte LLP is a subsidiary of Deloitte NWE LLP, which is a member firm of DTTL, and is among the UK's leading professional services firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.

For more information, please visit www.deloitte.co.uk

Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

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