TIMELY Careers, Northern Ireland’s first support service and jobs platform specialising in only flexible, part-time, job-share and term-time job opportunities, is to partner with Staffline Ireland to continue supporting women back into the workplace.
Staffline, the north’s largest recruitment company, will use its huge talent bank to post roles on the Timely Careers job board platform, which is aimed at attracting female employees who are keen to access flexible roles, with a minimum full time starting salary of £25,000.
Aimed at providing women with skills training and career support who are returning to work following a break or who require reduced hours, Timely Careers (www.timelycareers.com) is a free support service that factors in the commitments and demands of women, offering jobs across a range of industries.
The social enterprise, part of the WIB Group, provides peer support groups to ensure that women receive the right support needed to upskill, network and ultimately find a job that works for them and matches their skills and experience.
Staffline Irelandchief executive Tina McKenzie said: “This will unlock the potential of many talented women who have exited the workspace due to a multitude of reasons including caring responsibilities, exorbitant childcare costs and perhaps due to a loss of confidence but are now in a position to return to work.
“Our economy benefits from a full range of talents and we need to find ways of helping women balance their range of responsibilities and crucially not lose this vital driver of growth.
“It’s clear what would also assist many talented women back to work would be a coherent childcare strategy from the Executive that paves the way for flexible, affordable and accessible childcare.
“Unfortunately political inertia means we are still waiting on proper funding for families who want to work and use childcare services.”
Laura Dowie, director of Timely Careers, said: “For many women full-time work is simply not a realistic option, yet it is still often difficult to find skilled part-time jobs, careers and opportunities that respect the other commitments and demands in their lives.
“As well as challenging the perceptions and removing the obstacles and anxiety often faced by women who want to return to work, this new partnership with Staffline Ireland will give us the additional resources to continue to enable and empower women back into jobs, unlocking new opportunities for employers and ultimately supporting the local economy.”
The founding partners of Timely Careers include Fibrus, Danske Bank, Deloitte, Hughes Insurance, Version 1, Allstate, NIE Networks and most recently Herbert Smith Freehills, which has pledged their support for the next two years.