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Breaking Down Employment Barriers For Parents

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A recent research report has highlighted the barriers to re-entering the workforce after raising children. These barriers included time limitations around holidays and school hours, lack of experience or out-dated experience, low confidence, constrained job opportunities and insufficient employer flexibility. Geographical distance was also a large consideration, with most families wanting at least one parent within a short distance of their children’s child-care or school, in case of emergency.

Parents who were able to return to work, whether full-time or temporarily, generally experienced positive outcomes. They felt that work provided them with a sense of purpose and achievement, as well as independence, self-esteem and the opportunity for social connection. They felt that being part of the workforce set a positive example for their children, in addition to financial benefits, with a number of parents concerned about their lack of superannuation.

The most difficult aspect of work/life balance for families to juggle is the desire to “be there for the kids” and to not miss out on important moments or milestones. Flexibility was mentioned numerous times: The flexibility to work hours that fit with school and child-care, the flexibility to work part-time or casually, the flexibility to work around school holidays.

Cire Training are pleased to be offering three qualifications in fields that address the concerns of our local parents who wish to re-enter the workforce. Our Certificates in Early Childhood Education & Care, Individual Support (Aged Care/Disability) and Education Support (Teacher’s Aide) will give you the skills you need to find work in these rewarding growth industries.

We identified these industries as avenues to employment for families in the region as they’re already experiencing high demand, which is projected to increase over coming years. They offer a range of options from casual/relief work to full-time hours and allow you to design a work schedule that works for your lifestyle, allowing you to spend more time with your family.

These industries each allow you to play a vital role in the story of our community and its residents. You will finish each day with the knowledge that you work in a job that enriches the lives of others, as well as your own.

Our unique blend of theoretical learning with guaranteed practical placements mean you’ll finish your studies work-ready, with 85% of our students obtaining paid work post-graduation. Our one-on-one student support and qualified trainers will enable you to learn at your own pace, at one of our three locations, conveniently situated across the Yarra Ranges.

With no waiting lists and enrolments now open for 2020, don’t hesitate to take the first steps towards a new career. Cire Training will be hosting three free information sessions where we will describe the qualifications we have available, discuss possible career pathways and answer any questions you may have.

Don’t miss out! Visit our online Career Planning hub to reserve your free space now or contact a member of our friendly training team on 1300 835 235.

Getting Work Ready tips – writing a resumé

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Resumé writing can be hard so Cire training have put together some tips to help you make that important first impression.

Contact details
Make sure your name and contact details are included and most importantly your phone number and email address. Please remember to use a professional email address. If you don’t have one it only takes a few minutes to create a new one, jsmith88@hotmail.com is far more appealing than fordlover88@hotmail.com.

Lay out
Keep it simple and streamlined. Refrain from using colour, and if you decide to use dot points keep the same theme throughout your resume, using a bold text for headings is also a good idea. It is also a good idea to Google resume examples so you can get some ideas before you start. Remember to keep it simplistic, don’t get carried away with trends and busy designs, these resume types distract and look unprofessional.

Key strengths
A number of specific short statements listed as dot points outlining your key strengths. For example;

  • High-level computer skills including Microsoft Office, MYOB, Outlook

Employment history
List your professional working history starting from the most current position you hold or have held. We recommend listing them as follows; Job title, employer, and dates. Dot points are a good way to include a short list of position responsibilities and any achievements you accomplished whilst in that role.

School leavers and people re-entering the workforce after a lengthy absence with limited or no paid employment to list, could consider including work experience positions, volunteer position and any school leadership roles or club activities. If you have been the primary guardian of a child or a carer for a family member you can list the daily weekly tasks that you were responsible for. These tasks can include;

  • Meal planning and preparation
  • Transport
  • Finance administration including managing the the home budget
  • General home administration and management

Education and Training
Start with your highest qualification first. It’s a good idea to list it in the same format as your employment history; qualification, institute/provider, dates. Remember to include education and training that is relevant to the position you are applying for. If you were thinking of applying for an administration position the relevance of including a life guard qualification that you gained ten years previous would be questionable unless of course the administration position was within an aquatic centre. Include in-house training, university, TAFE, RTO and industry courses completed.

Hobbies and interests
The jury is out on whether to include hobbies and interests on your resume or not, we think if brief and thoughtfully completed, it is a way of helping you stand out from the crowd and makes you a real person to the reader. Just be mindful of what you include as some hobbies and interests may be viewed as offensive or inappropriate by the reader and therefore could impact on your chance of gaining the position or being shortlisted.

Referees
References/referees come at the end of your resumé. Include the referee’s name, phone number and whether it is a professional or personal referee. I would include two professional and one personal referee. A new trend of simply adding a sentence: “Referees details available upon request” has become common.

Above all make sure your referees are aware that you have included them in your resume and that you are actively applying for positions, it is a common courtesy that many people forget to do.

Length
Two pages; try and keep your resume to two pages in length.

Important note
Always send a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria of the job advertisement and position description (if one is available). By including a cover letter and writing your resume using the above tips your success rate for being shortlisted will be greater. Stay tuned for our next Getting Work Ready Tips on interview techniques.

Resume writing is just one of the topics covered in Cire’s Getting Work Ready short course. From cover letters to interview techniques this training is highly recommended if your goal is to re-enter the workforce. This course is currently only $25 so now is the perfect time to enrol, click here to learn more.