Mums Retrain or Go Self Employed to Deal With Flexibility and Employment Issues

Parenthood gives new mums a chance to reflect on their carer direction, mainly due to the need for flexibility.

According to a survey of 2,300 mums by WorkingMums.co.uk, 58 per cent have considered setting up in business or even taking on a franchise. The vast majority of those (36 per cent) who seriously thought about it did so simply because of the need to be flexible around their children’s needs.

Having a child gave a 15 per cent the kick start they needed to take advantage of their life-long desire to work for themselves.

Being able to fund the self-start was the biggest barrier to making the self-employment plunge.

Founder of Workingmums.co.uk, Gillian Nissim said: “These figures show that women are having to be very creative after they have children in order to keep working and have the flexibility and get the challenge they need. Having children can force a huge rethink in priorities which can lead to considerations around career change, but too often the reason women make these changes is because the culture at their previous workplace does not take into account the challenges they face. It is not that these women do not want to work and most have years of experience and skills. The ironic thing is that in being creative and adaptable they are developing the very skills that employers so need to confront the turbulent and dynamic world of work today.”

It’s not just self-employment that mums are considering. A staggering 64 per cent of women wanted to retrain from what they were currently doing, though again, the need for flexibility around course attendance stopped women from being able to do so.

One of the key findings was the need for hanging on to some kind of employment or training opportunity. Those who had dropped out of work to be a stay at home parent found it difficult to get back into work again.