Binnies joined forces with STEM Returners for the first time last year
It was a great opportunity to engage with professionals who wanted to re-enter the industry after a career break.
The programme was an immense success, resulting in permanent appointments. One of the returners was Jessica Panayiotou, who is now working as a project manager in the asset management team.
Jessica explained: “I needed someone to take a chance and that’s what STEM Returners did for me. This has been the most positive career move. I was feeling unconfident in my abilities, but the Binnies team has given me the boost and flexibility to deliver projects confidently.”
Keith Hamilton, Principal Consultant in the asset management team at Binnies, said: “The STEM Returners approach has been of real benefit to our team. The people who are taking part have already had real-world experience and know what is expected of them and therefore need less coaching or nudging to get into the groove, as opposed to graduates or people with less experience in the workplace. The opportunity to diversify our teams also gives us more flexibility in delivering projects. By broadening the skill base, we are finding that opportunities that were maybe closed to us before are now more realistic.
We are expanding into markets that are beyond our core business
We need the knowledge and expertise from within those markets to help us deliver our services to them in the most effective manner possible. We are looking forward to running our second programme with STEM Returners.”
The successful outcomes resulting from working with STEM Returners means we are now holding another programme, with ten new positions at our sites in Chester, Redhill and Glasgow, which will include roles such as geotechnical engineer, mechanical design engineer and project manager.
Read Jessica’s story