The energy at Day Three of the #Back2Business Returners Programme on March 21st at VCCP was absolutely electric—so much so that many attendees instinctively dressed in animal prints, amplifying the wild spirit of the day!
The discussions were raw, real, and powerful. We heard from incredible speakers who have navigated career breaks, parenthood, redundancy, and reinvention, proving that careers don’t have to be linear to be extraordinary.
🔹 Fiona Couper reminded us that flexibility is a two-way street—as long as the job gets done, setting boundaries is not only possible but necessary.
🔹 Sean Taylor painted a vision of today’s workplace, full of opportunities for returners and the value of transferable skills gained through life experience.
🔹 Tracy Woods urged us to focus on HOW we do things, especially when facing bias in hiring.
🔹 Maya Bhose shared her inspiring journey from redundancy to founding a charity that helps returners find their way back to work.
🔹 Amanda Fone delivered a masterclass on selling yourself within three minutes—because how you answer a question “So what do you do?” matters!
The key takeaways?
🚀 Break barriers—every industry has a skills gap waiting to be filled.
🚀 Resilience is your greatest strength—use it.
🚀 Network, be bold, and go for leadership roles.
🚀 Embrace change, and challenge outdated career norms.
🚀 Charity work can be a powerful re-entry point after a long career break.
🚀 Unlearn, keep learning and learn how to learn!
And as a fitting finale, a typo on one of the slides marked the date as “218 March”—perhaps a sign that this movement is already shaping the future!
Kristina Moskalenko Elena Valden
#ReturnToWork #CareerChange #Leadership #Networking #SkillsForTheFuture