Equate Careerhub, Scotland’s first job board tailored towards women in science, engineering, technology, and the built environment, is launched today. The hub will promote Scotland’s increasing opportunities to women STEM graduates, women returners, and women looking to remain in STEM.
The initiative is supported by employers in Scotland, including Barclays, FDM, FanDuel, and SSE. The Careerhub advertises vacancies across STEM including paid placements, returnships, graduate programmes and full & part time roles. It will work with employers to widen their talent search and will provide a tailored service reviewing recruitment language and recommend good recruitment practice to be more inclusive.
It is estimated that around 25% of the STEM sector are women. And according to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 73% of female STEM graduates leave the sector. Not only is this a waste of talent and opportunity but it jeopardises Scotland’s chances to be at the forefront of global innovation, said the organisation
By 2021 more than 70,000 new jobs will have been created in Scotland’s STEM industries alone, and every year 12,800 job vacancies are advertised in Scotland’s digital technology sectors – one third of which goes unfilled, according to Skills Development Scotland.
“This is the first initiative of its kind in Scotland and I am delighted with the response we have had from employers across Scotland who are eager to be involved,” said Talat Yaqoob, director of Equate Scotland. “[We have] Scotland’s largest network of women in STEM, reaching 1000’s of women. The Careerhub offers employers a fresh approach towards recruiting talent and presents an opportunity to tackle the skills shortage which is an economic and political priority.”
Emma Corstorphine, talent business partner at FanDuel, said: “We feel this is a great opportunity to target an untapped pool of talent and are really excited to see the applications come through.”
Professor Andrea Nolan, principle of Edinburgh Napier University said: “We have worked with Equate Scotland since its creation and have seen the positive impact the organisation has made.
“It is rightly an economic priority for Scotland to address the under-representation of women across STEM and this new initiative provides all employers an opportunity like never before; targeted advertising of STEM specific jobs to women to increase the number of applications received from a wider pool of diverse talent. I am delighted that Edinburgh Napier University is taking part and I hope even more women can see that we are an employer dedicated to equality and diversity.”
