Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) business division will be participating in the STEM Returners program in the United Kingdom. The program aims to help employers recruit, develop and retain the best available talent while also enabling highly qualified and experienced candidates to re-start their career. It also aims to minimize the gender imbalance within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and gives candidates a supported route back to their career.
“As a large employer of engineering talent, we often struggle to find a diverse slate of new candidates. Through participation in the STEM Returners program, Cubic will have access to an available and diverse talent pool who are committed to returning to the work place,” said David Wear, senior vice president and managing director, Cubic Transportation Systems. “This is a great opportunity for us to provide “STEM returners” with opportunities to rebuild their careers and utilize their valuable skillsets.”
The STEM Returners program will facilitate fully paid short-term, 12-week employment placements for professionals returning to work after a career break. Alongside the experience gained from the work placement, STEM Returners will also provide support for the candidate in advice, career coaching, networking opportunities and mentoring. Candidates going through the program will also have the opportunity to restart their career in a permanent position at the end of the program.
The diverse nature of the returner’s talent pool means that the program can be a valuable tool for tackling under representation of minority groups in the U.K.’s engineering workforce. The Royal Academy of Engineering recently revealed that while 26 percent of U.K. domiciled engineering graduates are Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME), they only make up 6 percent of full-time engineers. The STEM Returners program has had nearly a third of its successful candidates belonging to ethnic minority groups.
“I’m really excited about this new program and being able to tap in to a pool of prospective new candidates, and in doing so, continuing to improve the diversity of our engineering workforce, which is very important to us,” said Richard Rowlands, vice president of engineering, Cubic Transportation Systems.