Women in secretarial and support roles most likely to gain new qualifications during career break

Original research from recruitment firm Robert Walters has revealed that women in secretarial and support roles are the most likely to pursue training or further education during a career break (often to have children, but also for a host of other reasons), with 43% saying that they had compared to just 23% of women in other professions.

41% of female secretarial and support professionals also reported that they worked in another field during a career break, compared to just 23% of professionals in other fields.

The findings suggest that women in secretarial and support are the most proactive in terms of developing new skills and earning qualifications during a career break.

This presents employers with a valuable opportunity to attract highly skilled and experienced professionals who are looking to rejoin the workforce, many of whom will have acquired new qualifications during a break.

While women in secretarial and support roles are likely to return to the workforce after a career break having developed valuable skills, employers risk losing these professionals by failing to offer family friendly policies that meet their needs in terms of work-life balance.