Ontic partners again with STEM Returners

Image courtesy Ontic

Ontic will offer the new programme at their site in Cheltenham and be open to anyone who has had a career break for any length of time. STEM Returners, based in Hampshire, will source the candidates for the programme and support them with mentoring and career coaching services.

The new scheme follows a successful programme in 2022, which helped Electrical engineers return to the sector.

With over 50 years of aerospace part manufacturing and repair support experience, Ontic has operations across North America, the UK and Asia, providing strategic worldwide support to civil and defence customers when and where it is needed. Ontic manufactures, repairs and recertifies equipment for more than 1,500 customers and supports programmes including BAE System’s Hawk, UH-50 Black Hawk, Boeing 777 and the Airbus A330.

Diane Paul, Recruitment Manager for Ontic UK & Asia, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with STEM Returners again to help us recruit experienced and skilled people. We are a growing company so are constantly recruiting for newly created roles and with the skills shortage in our industry, this can be difficult so let’s not lose talented people with those skills because they’ve taken a career break.

“If someone’s got a good skills foundation on which to build, we welcome their expertise – we’ve employed ex-clock makers before as well as technicians previously working in the automotive industry because they have valuable transferrable skills. It’s the same with people who’ve had a career break – we offer lots of training so can help bring people up to speed quickly but ultimately, their foundational skills are still very valuable and it’s a great opportunity to support people with experience and knowledge returning to work.”

Research from STEM Returners (STEM Returners Index) has found that many people face challenges when returning to work following a career break, with recruitment bias against a lack of recent experience as well as gender, age and race as the main barriers to entry. For example, half (51%) of respondents said a perceived lack of recent experience was a barrier to entry, an increase from 38% in the 2023 Index and more than a quarter (26%) of women said they felt they have personally experienced bias in the recruitment process due to their gender compared to eight per cent of men.

STEM Returners’ programmes aim to eliminate these barriers by giving candidates real work experience and mentoring during their placement, as well as supporting them to adjust to life back in work. At the end of the programme, returners may be offered the opportunity to become permanent employees.

Natalie Desty, Director of STEM Returners, said: “We know there is a skills gap across engineering – the UK needs 124,000 new engineers and technicians annually to meet demand, but nearly half of businesses find it hard to recruit. However, there is a hidden workforce that can fill those roles immediately, if they are given the chance.

“Many returners keep themselves updated with the developments from their industry and have developed transferable skills that can benefit employers. We are proud to be launching our second programme with Ontic, who share our objectives of increasing the numbers of returners in the workplace, helping people understand the benefits of diversity and raising awareness of unconscious bias to provide an inclusive platform to bring talented professionals back to the industry.”

Since STEM Returners launched in 2017, more than 500 people have joined programmes across the UK and returned to work. To view STEM Returners’ opportunities, visit https://stemreturners.com/live-programmes