Engineering company AECOM has announced plans for a new type of working contract giving employees 12 weeks leave a year so they can spend every school holiday with their children.
The program is being launched in partnership with the FlexCareers organisation. The new term-time contracts will be available to anyone responsible for school-aged children including, for example, foster-carers and grand-parents.
Whilst AECOM hope that men will take the opportunity to spend the holidays with their children, where AECOM hope to make the biggest impact is encouraging women who may have given up on a career in engineering, to come back and give it another chance.
“There is a significant pool of talent who have stepped away from our industry because they were unable to nurture their families and their careers at the same time," said AECOM Chief Executive for Australia and New Zealand Todd Battley.
"That no longer has to be the case. By working with FlexCareers, on what we believe to be an industry first, we will be able to target an extensive network of parents and guardians who are seeking flexibility to manage childcare responsibilities.”
AECOM's Human Resources Director for ANZ, Helen Fraser, said she regularly speaks with women who express the challenges about school holidays and there is no doubt that many stop working because it is just too hard to manage the 12 weeks of school holidays each year.
“This arrangement will take that worry away for people," she said.
"Piloting the term-time contracts with up to 20 roles across Australia and New Zealand initially gives AECOM 12 months to test and refine it with our clients, our people and professional women who have not been actively looking for work in the infrastructure sector. We are confident that it will appeal to both men and women with caring responsibilities.”
Engineers Australia board member Trish White said childcare is an issue for a lot of parents.
"It's the costs surrounding it, it's the availability that really do influence those decision," said White
"I think it's smart business sense for companies to look at other ways to make themselves more attractive employers and attractive workplaces."
[Photo: FlexCareers]