Work Avenue empowers women – not just on International Women’s Day, but every single day of the year. As a leading employment and business support organisation for the community, Work Avenue helps thousands of people each year find jobs, change careers, gain promotion and start or grow their own businesses. Through this work, it recognises the unique challenges that many women face – challenges that often don’t affect men in the same way.
It is often women who take a career break to raise children or care for an elderly parent, or who need to go part-time or move to a role with less responsibility in order to juggle school runs and family commitments.
Female clients often come to Work Avenue lacking confidence – whether that’s struggling to secure a job, not being able to assert themselves once in work, or feeling that they aren’t running a business to the best of their ability.
One reason Work Avenue’s team understands these struggles is that they have experienced them first-hand.
As a predominantly female team, and led by CEO Debbie Lebrett, they know what it’s like to juggle a career and family, or to run a business within a male-dominated environment.
Speakers at Empower Her (from left) Orit Cantor, Liora Kut and Rebecca Martin.[Missing Credit]
Jo Diamond, Work Avenue’s head of marketing, says: “Work-life balance is more than just a phrase in our office – it’s a priority. We know how important it is to maintain a healthy balance.
“We meet so many incredible women every day and our job is not to help them manage… it’s to watch them thrive!”
Alongside Work Avenue’s range of free services open to everyone – including one-to-one advice, workshops and events – it has also developed specific pathways for women in the community.
Last year, it launched Empower Her – a programme designed to help women re-enter the workforce with the tools, resources and confidence they need to succeed. One of those who took part was Daniella. She came to Work Avenue feeling “lost” after taking a long career break to raise a family.
Things had changed a lot since the last time Daniella had looked for work, especially the growing importance now placed on online searches and applications. The course, along with the guidance of the Work Avenue team, equipped her with the knowledge and skills she needed to land the role she was looking for.
She says: “As well as covering important topics like structuring your CV and searching online for a job, the Work Avenue team really emphasised looking inside yourself to see where you are in life and what you need from work. I came to Empower Her feeling lost. Now, I feel so much more able and confident and am delighted to be back in the workplace.”
Tracey also entered the programme lacking “a little bit of confidence and direction” when it came to finding work.
She says she felt like a new woman afterwards, adding: “The course was fantastic – it gave me the motivation and the kick up the backside I needed to go out and try to find work. It was also good to meet people in similar situations and share our experiences. Knowing that you are not on your own, and that there is help out there if you need it, is amazing.”
Another cohort of Empower Her is currently being planned, while Work Avenue’s free advice and workshops run all year round.
Wherever you are in your career or business journey, Work Avenue is here to help. It supports women of all ages and all life stages, from all sections of the Jewish community. So if you’re looking to boost your career or business, get in touch today. You can find out more at theworkavenue.org.uk
