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“I came away with a renewed self confidence that I could actually return to work” UK participant.

Career Circles have been supporting women in their return to work across Europe, and the feedback from participants and facilitators illustrates the effectiveness of the methodology.

Two pilot series of Career Circles were carried out across the partner countries of Denmark, UK, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. They were both exceptionally well received, with approximately 50% of all participants involved with the programme across Europe returning to work by the end of the programme.  Facilitators have been trained in the European partner countries in the methodology by UK trainers.

“Fabulous! The methodology supports self responsibility and empowerment . A challenging but very rich process.” Swiss facilitator

The feedback from participants and faciltators at the project partner meeting in London was encouraging and inspiring.

EU return partners met in London at the beginning of June to share experiences of Career Circles and to plan the next steps. The meeting proved to be an interesting and successful session, with each partner presenting their series of Career Circles and results. Emma Parry from Inova in the UK commented that it was “great to see the impact on women returners across Europe through a second successful Career Circle pilot.”

The EU Return project has developed an online version of all the materials used in the Career Circles, in an interactive, easy-to use format.

As part of the project outcomes, virtual access to the learner’s materials developed by the project is being piloted. Using the online classroom software ‘Moodle’, the materials have been uploaded and adapted to become more interactive. Forums allow users to share thoughts and experiences, while private areas allow users to chart their journey as a learning log.

Under a change in law coming into effect in April 2011, fathers in the UK will have the option to take more time off after the birth of their children.

In a move which it is hoped will support mothers in returning to work, couples will be able to transfer the last three months of the mother’s nine-month maternity leave to the father. In effect, this means that fathers will be able to take three months paid paternity leave while the mother returns to work, with the additional option of another unpaid three months paternity leave.

Follow the link to read more

Partners are now carrying out the final stage of adapting the Career Circles methodology.

A second pilot of Career Circles for women returners is beginning this month in four partner countries – UK, Denmark, Portugal and Romania, as well as in a fifth, Switzerland, carried out by our associate partner.

Feedback from the first sessions has been very positive so far, with participants feeling motivated and inspired by their meeting. To find out more, follow the link below.