It’s no understatement to say that coronavirus has thrust the UK’s job market into uncertainty, with the unemployment rate recently rising to its highest level for two years.
Faced with the chaos around them, people will be seeking to understand now more than ever how to find secure and rewarding employment – including accessible ways to retrain, and the ability to pivot their careers
Women in particular must be shown the pathways to train and reskill into STEM careers; an area in which females are still hugely under-represented – whether school-age, graduates or experienced workers.
Only around a quarter of people working in STEM in the UK are female, according to workforce figures from the WISE female STEM campaign, and just 17% of tech roles are currently filled by women.
This is not a new problem. Indeed, it is rooted in a range of issues, including a lack of girls taking STEM subjects at school or university, less encouragement from parents in some cases and other barriers to entry.
How can we turn this around?
- More targeted and better careers information
- More engaging/ relevant skills training and information on career paths
- Active mentoring
- Greater diversity
To find out more about what skills are needed to navigate the post COVID 19 job market:
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/could-covid-19-be-the-catalyst-to-get-more-women-into-stem/
