FDM at Karren Brady’s Women in Business and Tech Expo

This October FDM joined Karren Brady’s Women in Business and Tech Expo. This two-day event, now in its fourth year was held on 12 and 13 October at the Excel London. The female-led expo featured over 60 exhibitors, more than 4000 attendees and 60+ world-class speakers. It was tailored for individuals who want to thrive in their career or business and provided inspiration, guidance, recruitment opportunities and business services to aid their professional journey.

We were excited to attend this gala event where our Returners team had a stand and were available to answer any questions about our Returners Programme. We had the opportunity to meet some amazing women, looking to return to work after a career break.

The Women in Business and Tech Expo 2022 was a great networking opportunity that gave visitors the chance to:

• find employers that empower their female workforce
• learn how to progress in tech or enter the field
• discover companies invested in the success of women at work
• connect with companies that champion women
• launch a new business or franchise
• explore new career options when returning after a break
• examine franchise opportunities to fit your life goals
• learn how retraining, upskilling and reskilling could change your career path

We were delighted to receive over 100 applications for our Returners Programme from a diverse group of candidates, all with career breaks between one to ten years. They came from varied backgrounds including media, retail, finance, IT and more.

Our very own FDM Academy trainer and global head of professional skills, Hazel Theocharous delivered an interesting keynote about self-branding and landing your dream job. She shared some valuable insights on identifying your USP and using it to market yourself to employers and clients. It is this unique vale add that separates you from your peers and gives you the competitive edge you need. She also spoke of the importance of recognising the transferrable skills that we learn in the course of our careers starting from our first ever jobs. Hazel’s session included some interactive exercises where attendees got a chance to introduce themselves and their soft skills.

The highlight of the keynote session was of course Karren Brady’s speech where she spoke of harnessing the talents, ambitions and drive of women in business. She discussed how the business world has evolved in the last 2 years, how women have had to adapt and what core skills and values are needed to succeed in this new post-pandemic world. It was an insightful session that no doubt gave attendees the push they needed to pursue new opportunities.

The FDM Returners Programme offers several career paths including –

• Project manager
• Business analyst
• Software developer
• Delivery lead
• IT Service manager
• Programme manager
• Solution architect
• Cloud practitioner
• Change manager

Our Returners programme is run by a team of experienced professionals, many of whom were returners themselves and understand the unique challenges faced by those looking to get back to work. The training aims to refresh your skills and help you rebuild your confidence. Earn a guaranteed salary from Day 1 and get placed with some industry-leading companies.

The Women in Business and Tech Expo was a great networking opportunity for returners. From meeting recruiters to gathering information about returners programmes and their open days, there were some valuable takeaways from the event.

We had several enquiries about our next open morning which provides a more in-depth glimpse into the FDM Returners programme and a chance to interact with both old and new consultants and hear their first-hand experiences of the programme. There were also several signups for our Returners newsletter that provides useful programme-related information and regular updates about events and other helpful resources.

If you missed attending the event, you can still get a chance to network and explore new opportunities to get back to work. Sign up for one of our Returners Programme Open Mornings today.