Spotlight on our inspiring FDM Returners

This month we’re turning the spotlight on two of our Returner Consultants. Yemi Oyelami had an eight-year career break after her children were born whilst Alex Levchenko had to relocate to the UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Despite their vastly different social and academic backgrounds and the different personal and professional challenges they had to overcome, what connects them is restarting their careers with FDM.

We spoke to both Yemi and Alex to find out about their unique journeys back to work.

The long maternity break

Yemi Oyelami took time off from work to pursue an MBA at university. Shortly after graduating, she had her first child and her intended career break turned from months to years. Five years later, Yemi had her second child and the gap in her CV continued to grow. She re-trained in Business Analysis (BA) and Project Management courses to prepare for interviews but as the years wore on, she received fewer and fewer responses from recruiters.

Yemi had all but given up hope when she came across an advert for the FDM Returners Programme. She took a leap of faith and applied and soon after found herself among a cohort of 11 other professionals much like herself who were looking to return to work after a break.

What followed was an intensive few weeks of coaching, covering Project Management (Prince II foundation), Business Analysis (BCS), Professional Scrum Master, Financial Industry awareness, an introduction to Excel with finally the project week that involved group research and presentation.

Yemi recalls how this time at FDM helped rebuild her confidence.

First job in eight years

‘The great coaches and Returners team were happy to help at every step. The coaching was intensive but necessary to get me ready for my first job after eight years.’

She had her first assignment working as a BA for a public sector client. Since then, she’s worked across the insurance, educational and public sectors, on projects around data migration, GDPR and access management.

Childcare

Yemi commended the FDM Returners Programme for supporting her to work around her childcare needs. Her youngest was just over a year old when she joined the programme. The convenient 10:30am – 4:30pm timing of the coaching sessions made it easy to manage school runs and childcare arrangements.

‘Even though my children are much older now, I have enjoyed flexibility around working hours with every client I have worked with, that gives me opportunity to attend special school events and school runs.

I am grateful that I took that bold step back in 2017 to apply for this opportunity. My time so far with FDM has been a wonderful journey, the offices I have worked at, the projects I have worked on, the Consultants I have met along the way and the support I received on and off-site have been great.’

Her advice for those considering a return to work –

‘For everyone thinking about it, I say embrace this opportunity. There are few opportunities like this out there. So, what are you waiting for?’

A new beginning

Alex Levchenko relocated to the UK in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In his previous role he was managing a team providing software localisation services to international clients. Forced to move to a country where he had little knowledge of the local labour market, Alex found himself struggling to find a job.

‘After the relocation, I had to change my career because the war also impacted the market I was working in. Changing industries is never easy, and I had to rely on my transferable skills more than on my expert knowledge. For me, it was both new and uncomfortable.’

RefuAid, a charity supporting refugees referred him to the FDM Returners Programme and he decided to take the opportunity.

A welcome challenge

Alex found the coaching challenging, but in a good way – the practical skills and Scrum certifications in particular and the regular interview drills helped boost his confidence.

‘The previous interview I had before that point was around 2001. I had jobs after that, so I didn’t need interviews.’

He acknowledges the support he received from the coaches and the Returners team.

‘I had to leave my comfort zone, but this was to be expected. I was eager to learn and I was happy that there were people willing to teach.’

New role

He currently works in the GMPe Ops team at a global professional services company. His role is to keep track of multiple projects at once and manage resources, keep teams informed by providing timely project updates and manage the data team that processes data for these projects.

The skills he picked up in project management, team management, Excel and Scrum helped him to improve the workflow and results of his data team.

Speaking about his personal experience Alex said, ‘changing countries helped me to better understand people of different cultures, which is very important in the multicultural environment I’m working in now.’

FDM Returners Programme

Over 500 professionals have gone through the FDM Returners Programme. Whatever the reason for your career break – whether childcare like Yemi or relocation like Alex, our dedicated Returners team are on hand to facilitate a smooth return to work.

You bring the experience and we’ll provide the coaching, upskilling and support you need to get your career back on track.

So if you’ve had a career break of over 12 months and are looking for your next role, check out the FDM Returners Programme or join one of our virtual Open Mornings for more information.