Above: Female engineer on board ship.

The company has teamed up with the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) to launch STEM Returners.
 
The scheme will start in September this year and aims to help employers recruit, develop and retain the best available talent, while enabling highly qualified and experienced candidates to restart their career.

 
Dr Graham Farnell, Engineering Director, BAE Systems Maritime Services, said: “Finding exceptional talent to help us deliver first class engineering and technical support to our customers is fundamental to our business.
 
“The work we do across the engineering disciplines to design, build, maintain and upgrade ships, and the support and equipment we provide to people, is absolutely vital in assisting the Royal Navy achieve its operational commitments on behalf of the UK across the globe.
 
“It’s also the Year of Engineering, so we’re doubly proud to be able to announce we’re part of the STEM Returners scheme, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming our first participants later in the year.”
 
The project offers paid short-term employment placements and also gives participants career coaching, networking opportunities and mentor support, and the possibility to restart their career in a permanent position at the end of the programme.
 
Four placements will be available across BAE Systems’ Maritime Services sites at Portsmouth Naval Base, Broad Oak in Portsmouth and Cowes on the Isle of Wight. These roles will be available across the electrical, mechanical, integrated logistics support, naval architect, civil engineering and structural engineering functions.                                    
 
BAE Systems also has placements for two electrical engineers and two mechanical engineers with its Naval Ships team in Glasgow and two software engineering placements with its Naval Ships Combat Systems team in New Malden, Greater London.
 
Natalie Desty, who founded the STEM Returners programme, said: “The science and engineering industry has a shortage of skilled workers, but many highly qualified and experienced people are struggling to get back into work.
 
“For example, female professionals returning from career breaks are often underemployed, with three in five likely to move into lower-skilled or lower-paid roles.
 
“We want to change employers’ perceptions of CV gaps, remove barriers to returning to work and ensure the widest possible pool of talent is being considered for jobs.”

Candidates wishing to apply have until Monday 16 July and can do so through: www.stemreturners.com/returner-registration