Careermums Joins Forces with Westfield ‘we Are Family’ Campaign

Going back to work after having children can be rather daunting, especially for parents who have spent a lot of time out of the workforce.

Kate Sykes, founder of Careermums, an online recruitment agency says, 'One of the major obstacles return-to-work mums face is trying to find a job that is flexible'.

While the work environment is not conducive to working mums, it is improving. 'As women make up more than 50 per cent of the workforce, employers are finding that they are losing a large number of skilled employees because they're not offering a flexible work environment' Kate says.

Kate will be visiting Westfield shopping centres in Sydney and Canberra during July and August, to discuss a range of topics including 'return to work' and 'the first 12 months', as part of the Westfield 'We are Family' campaign.

The talks are a unique opportunity for mums who want to return to work to hear about how to re-enter the workforce and find jobs that provide the flexibility they need.

'One tip is not to put 'stay-at-home mum' on your resume. List all the non-paid work you do, for example, working on cake stalls, doing tuckshop duty and managing the household and turn these tasks into work-speak.'

Kate adds that the government's 50 per cent tax rebate on childcare will ease the financial pressures on working families and help make the choice for mums to return to work more attractive.

The introduction of the rebate comes as a result of the increasing skills shortage in Australia. Employers are finding that women are choosing not to return to work after having children because of financial restraints due to increasing childcare costs.

'I applaud the government for making the change. It will not only provide more opportunities for mums to return to work but make the workforce more family friendly and affordable', Kate, a working mum herself, says.