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techUK & everywoman put 20 women looking to return to the tech sector through a two-day course in partnership with our members.

techUK & everywoman worked together to support brilliant women who had taken a career break to get back into tech. 

The Back to Work programme has been developed specifically by everywoman and techUK for women who have previously had careers in the technology industry, have taken a break and are now keen to resume a career in the sector. Through sponsorship and support from techUK members Accenture, Computacenter, Finmeccanica, Fujitsu, and HPE - we were able to put 20 women through the specially developed programme.

The course gave women access to leadership and personal development experts who discuss perceived barriers and limiting beliefs, personal brand, the importance of networks, and professional presence. The attendees also met role models who shared what leadership means in the tech industry and heard from women who had already returned to the workplace to share their experiences.

Susan Bowen, the Chair of techUK's Women in Tech Council, kicked off the session with an inspiring discussion with the women on her personal journey and the great steps the attendees in the room had taken to even apply for the course. She further outlined techUK's Women in Tech programme priorities and made a commitment on behalf of techUK to help the women in the room through their journeys. 

The 2 days were a huge success. The feedback from the attendees was phenomenal, stating that they had a renewed sense of positivity and were greatly looking forward to making the next steps in their careers. The women in the room left feeling empowered, more confident, recommitted to coming back to the industry with an understanding of what they needed to do. Most importantly, they told us they felt valued and wanted by the industry and gained a lot from hearing from our member industry experts.

The women will now get complimentary membership to the everywoman network, and will be invited back to quarterly networking sessions with recruiters from our sponsoring members. We will create a dynamic LinkedIn group with the attendees, ensuring that they are supporting in their forthcoming journey.

With the pilot session kicking off with a roaring success, we are looking forward to working with our members and everywoman to get started on the next iteration of the programme. If you are interested in getting involved or sponsoring the programme, please get in touch with Doniya Soni.