Women ReBoot is helping women who have taken a career break to return to the IT sector with confidence.
The IT sector has two problems: a lack of women in the industry and a severe skills shortage. A simple solution (at least on paper) would be to encourage more women to join, or rejoin, the tech industry.
Of course, that’s much easier said than done, but laudable efforts are being made to encourage girls from a young age to consider a career in STEM, and there are also movements to ease the transition back into the workforce after a career break.
Women ReBoot is a campaign aimed at women who have taken some time out from the IT sector.
The technology sector moves so fast that it can be particularly easy for women who have taken a career break to feel like the working world they once knew has moved on without them.
There are new skills and technologies every day and, depending on how long a career break you took, you might feel like it’s impossible to catch up and return to the IT sector.
The Software Skillnet’s Women ReBoot programme has been designed to bridge the gap between talented, professional women and tech employers.
The campaign comes as a welcome solution to address the continuing gender imbalance, while simultaneously attempting to ease the skills shortage.
Woman ReBoot offers women networking opportunities, CV advice and mentors to help them regain their confidence and return to work. However, it’s not the only one of its kind.
Both PayPal and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) released back-to-work schemes last year, with the latter announcing last week that the programme would be brought to Dublin.
BofAML’s London programme proved so successful that the American finance giant is bringing it to Ireland, complementing plans to up its headcount here to 700.
The programme is currently open for applications, targeting those who have been out of work more than 12 months, such as stay-at-home parents, carers and those on career break.
