After relocating from London, Helen was finding it difficult to transfer her skills from the Broadcast Media industry in to a role close to home. Joining the STEM Returners programme with BT, Helen was able to utilise her broadcast engineering skills to start a rewarding second career. Here is her story:
Why did you approach STEM returners?
I had previously been working in London within the Broadcast Media industry. My 13 years’ experience have been in programming, scheduling and transmission controller roles at companies such as The BBC, BT, Turner, MTV and DreamWorks. After relocating to Ipswich, Suffolk I no longer wanted to commute into London every day, so tried to find other jobs locally. It was very daunting at first as there were no jobs advertised that seemed to fit my skill set. Recruitment agencies didn’t know which jobs to put me forward for and some even suggested changing my CV to appear more Secretarial. Luckily, Natalie found me via LinkedIn and told me about STEM returners and about the training placements they offer for people with engineering and technology backgrounds.
How did STEM returners help?
STEM Returners helped utilise skills that I thought I could no longer use. I had worked in broadcast engineering at the beginning of my career and then changed to Broadcast media, so I thought my older skills would not be relevant. I also had lost confidence after being unemployed for four months and I had applied for jobs and not had any response and didn’t really know what career steps to take next.
What was the end result?
After applying to be part of STEM Returners and attending an open day, I managed to gain a place on a training programme at BT Adastral Park in the Network Operation Control engineering team. The placement was a 12 week paid training programme, after 9 weeks I was offered a permanent position within the company.
How has this changed your career?
I’ve been able to gain new experience and build on skills I had previously. I have regained confidence being part of the STEM Returners training programme and there are further training courses available to me as a permanent employee.
Would you recommend the programme?
I would definitely recommended STEM Returners. For me the whole experience has been insightful, helpful and rewarding. I was placed on the STEM Returners training with five other STEM Returners and we have all supported each other and have become friends through the process.