Deloitte Creates New Roles In The North East As It Champions Return To Work Programme

Carey Stuart is a senior manager at Deloitte and head of the Professional Standards Review Centre of Excellence in Newcastle, where she is an advocate of agile working. Here she talks about Deloitte's Return to Work programme.

Going back into work after an extended period of time can be daunting as people feel the pressure to refresh and redevelop skills and often fear they may have been left behind.

This is particularly relevant to women when they have a young family. The result can be that we lose talented people from the industry.

At Deloitte our Return to Work programme is about helping to rebuild a career in a way that works for everyone.

The scheme offers 25 weeks of support, in a paid internship capacity, for anyone who has had a career break of two years or more and has had at least five years’ experience in professional services or a similar relevant industry. Applicants to the Return to Work programme come from a wide range of backgrounds and have taken career breaks for different reasons, including becoming parents, caring for relatives or just going travelling.

The award-winning programme saw 90% of last year’s intake transition into permanent or contract roles with the firm, and we’re hoping it can have an impact in the North East.

One of the areas of the business that offers opportunities for people wanting to return to work is the Professional Standards Review Centre of Excellence. The team focuses on audit and independent risk reviews and has grown from just two to 26 in under three years. We have plans to further increase the headcount by 15 in the coming year across Newcastle, Leeds and Belfast, and we hope the Return to Work programme can help to kick start some of that recruitment.

One of the reasons the PSR Centre of Excellence has been such a success, but also might appeal to anyone considering the return to work programme, is that we practice truly agile working. Fifty per cent of the team work part-time, as I do myself, which means that at any one time half of the team are working remotely or reduced hours. This requires a high level of trust and engagement, which leads to consistently high levels of performance and a fulfilling work experience, while maintaining a good balance between work and home life.

More importantly this means that 50 per cent of the team successfully manage a career in audit on part-time contracts. A career that many of them didn’t think was possible in this industry.

Deloitte’s Return to Work programme runs four days a week and successful candidates receive a comprehensive induction to the firm, technical skills training, coaching and on-the-job project and direct client experience. Applications for this year’s intake close on 30th June.