Success Story
Successful Mums, an independent training provider, used our Level 2 qualifications in Digital and IT Skills, moulded around each learner, to help women rebuild their confidence and return to work or start their own business after a career break. In nine years it has supported almost 10,000 women across the UK.
If you support adults returning to work after a break, career changers, or learners who need flexible qualifications you can shape around family life, get in touch.
Successful Mums, an independent training provider (ITP) helping women back into work
Level 2 Award in Digital Skills; Level 2 Extended Certificate in Digital and IT Skills
Women returning to work face low confidence, outdated skills and too few flexible roles
Blended online and face-to-face training, with units moulded to each learner and future-facing digital skills
Almost 10,000 women supported across the UK, with updated skills and the confidence to return to work or start a business
These digital awards are so flexible, a bit like, Play Doh, we can mould them to fit the needs of our learners, and they are 'buildable'… you can deconstruct them and rebuild, choosing units to keep the qualification relevant to the learner.Lisa Harriss, Head of Quality and Curriculum, Successful Mums
Many women returning to work after maternity leave or a career break face the same three barriers at once: lost confidence, skills that have moved on without them, and too few roles flexible enough to fit around caring responsibilities.
Successful Mums works with a wide range of women, including those who held corporate roles before maternity leave, those on career breaks, those who have never worked, those who have not worked in the UK, and women who have been made redundant. Some are looking for a job that fits around their family or a change of career; others are exploring starting their own business.
Jane Knight, Founder, Successful MumsA lot of our mums are lacking in confidence. They've lost their way a bit, but they are so talented and experienced; they just need that extra support to help them get back on track.
Successful Mums combined in-person and online courses, built around the lives of the women it worked with. The courses covered digital skills, which matter in almost every job now, alongside practical units for learners who wanted to be self-employed and start their own business.
Delivery was blended on purpose:
Our Level 2 Award in Digital Skills and Level 2 Extended Certificate in Digital and IT Skills sat at the centre of this, and because the units could be selected and rebuilt, the qualification was shaped around the learner rather than the other way round.
The training also looked forward, not just at the software a job needed at the time. Learners were introduced to the technologies employers ask about at interview, so they walked in current rather than catching up.
Lisa Harriss, Head of Quality and Curriculum, Successful MumsWe do a combination of face-to-face and/or online. This approach lets learners benefit from the flexibility of online learning, while also benefitting from the Successful Mums community, and the support offered by face-to-face sessions. Having a balance is important, it enables mums to manage their learning alongside their family and personal commitments.
Jane Knight set out to help 100 mums. In nine years, Successful Mums has supported almost 10,000 women from right across the UK.
The women who come through the programmes leave with digital skills that are current, the confidence to use them, and a route forward that fits their lives, whether that is flexible employment or a business of their own. The qualification did the practical work; the blended model and the community around it did the confidence.
The women at Successful Mums did not just update their digital skills. They rebuilt the confidence to use them, and found a route back into work or into a business of their own, on terms that fit their lives. That happened because the provision, and the qualification underneath it, were shaped around them rather than the other way round. The same is possible for very different learners, in very different settings. If you would like to explore what flexible, buildable qualifications could look like for yours, we’re here whenever you’d like to talk.
We’ll help you find the right qualification and shape it around your learners and the way you deliver.
