Businesses can’t find workers. Women can’t find their way back in. According to FW and FW Jobs Academy Founder Helen McCabe, these aren’t two separate problems. They’re the same one, waiting for the same fix.

This message was delivered loud and clear in NSW Parliament House, where FW gathered Members of Parliament, employers, mentors and alumni over an International Women’s Day morning tea to celebrate five years of Jobs Academy – the free, year-long virtual program helping women return to work and build meaningful careers.

Co-hosted by Parliamentary Secretary Greg Warren and Shadow Minister Felicity Wilson, the event welcomed Members of Parliament, Employer Partners, Jobs Academy mentors, alumni and advocates in support of the program.

Warren said he was “delighted and proud” to support a program helping women return to work, sharing that for him, it’s “the cause that matters most”.

“I remember when my two boys’ mum had to basically give up her career to have our children… getting back in was a real, enormous struggle for her. And you’re not talking a few months. This was over seven years.”

Warren praised Jobs Academy for supporting women in similar positions.

“I’m not going to stand here as a bloke and pretend to know exactly how that feels,” he told the room. 

“What I do know is how important it is that we as a Parliament, we as a society, and we as communities support those who need support during that time. This program does exactly that.”

FW welcomed MPs from across NSW, employers, mentors and alumni to NSW Parliament House

Over five years, Jobs Academy has supported nearly 4,000 women facing a variety of barriers including the “motherhood penalty”, increased caring duties, a lack of flexible roles and ageism. What began as a small pilot of 140 members in 2021 has grown into a national platform that, thanks to government support, is completely free for members.

In 2023, FW partnered with the Minns Government to deliver Jobs Academy to women across NSW, having since supported more than 1,000 participants with remarkable impact.

“We’ve seen absolutely phenomenal results,” said FW founder and Managing Director Helen McCabe, who co-founded Jobs Academy alongside FW Deputy Managing Director Jamila Rizvi.

“At program completion, after 12 months, over 50 percent of participants successfully transition back to work or study,” explained McCabe.

“Five years in, the positive effects continue. Eighty-two percent of participants attain employment, and nearly three quarters of those who find work stay with their original employer.”

These figures are impressive. But they take on a different weight when you hear the voices of the women behind them. Alongside McCabe and Warren at Parliament House, Jobs Academy graduates also took to the microphone to share their stories and successes in the program.

“The beauty of Jobs Academy is in how it helps you reinvent yourself,” said alumna Joy Pereira. “It unlocked that for me.”  

That reality is shared by fellow alumni Angela Pucciarelli and Michela Dening.

“I was out of work and not getting replies from any employers,” Pucciarelli shared. After getting accepted into the program she says she “finally felt purpose” and received the support she needed to find a meaningful role.

“Two years on, I’m still there and have succeeded in everything, thanks to Jobs Academy.”

“At scale, Jobs Academy can drive real economic growth and productivity, while also changing the lives of women and their families forever.”

For Dening, who took a 14-year career break overseas raising her three children, the program was a bridge back to her passions.

“Jobs Academy gave me the confidence to get back out there. I’ve pivoted careers and been working for 18 months, it’s been a great life change.”

Jobs Academy can be life-changing. However, as McCabe shared with the room, due to budgeting limitations, only one in four women who apply are granted a place in the program.

“There are more than 350,000 women in New South Wales who want to return to work or increase their hours,” said McCabe. “Most of these women aren’t out of work by choice.”

At the same time, NSW faces critical labour and skills shortages across health, education, social services, clean energy, construction and defence. 

“Employers are crying out for support in a tight labour market,” said McCabe. “Jobs Academy is the missing link.

“At scale, Jobs Academy can drive real economic growth and productivity, while also changing the lives of women and their families forever.”

McCabe sees the program as a key contributor towards solving both problems, sharing that Jobs Academy is working with more than 40 large NSW-based employers and connecting them with women looking for work.

Among those employers are Salesforce, Deloitte and Mott MacDonald, longtime supporters and partners of Jobs Academy who recognise the program as essential towards building a more skilled, inclusive and diverse Australian workforce.

“The program goes above and beyond ‘job prep’.”

Salesforce Senior Manager Leane Bamford Barnes says Jobs Academy is “unlike any other program” the tech giant has worked with. “Through our collaboration, we have been able to create new, scalable avenues to upskill and reskill women with digital skills, and broaden their understanding of the tech sector as a meaningful career path.”

Deloitte’s Sanchia Stafford-Gaffney says the Jobs Academy participants referred into their Digital Careers Program “exemplify many of the key human skills we look for – critical thinking, judgment, resilience, adaptability”.

“Across our extensive network of pre-employment program partners, we find Jobs Academy creates more skilled and job-ready participants than almost any other,” she says. “The fact that they’re able to achieve this at scale, for some of the most under-represented groups in our society, is nothing short of exceptional.”

This sentiment is shared by Mary O’Keefe at Mott MacDonald, who says  “the outcomes speak for themselves.

“Jobs Academy stands out because it’s thoughtful, flexible and truly inclusive by design. The program goes above and beyond ‘job prep’.”

Following the event, Pucciarelli shared her own reflections on the morning, saying it was an “honour to be given the opportunity to share [her] story”.

“I am truly grateful to be part of this journey,” she said, extending her appreciation to the NSW Government, employer partners and mentors involved in making Jobs Academy possible.

 It’s a journey FW hopes many more women will be able to take. 

As Jobs Academy looks toward its next intake, the focus remains on government at all levels to expand their support of women looking to re-enter the workforce, and employer partners seeking to help pave the way.