About Making Work Work
Making Work Work is a suite of programmes designed by The Challenges Group and Scotland’s Flex Influencer 2022, Lynn Houmdi, to help people, particularly women, to make empowered transitions into fulfilling work that works around all the other commitments and enjoyment of life. We support women to craft their careers through the ups and downs of life and to rediscover their professional selves.
Video courtesy of zutto.co.uk
Boost work-related
skills
Our programmes are designed to equip you with the skills you'll need to find work that fits around your life and with your existing experience.
Build confidence in your skills & abilities
Working with our facilitators and other participants, you'll build your confidence and refresh your transferable skills, whether you seek employment or want to start a business.
Expand your network to support your job search
Through the Making Work Work team and our programme of masterclasses, you will build a network of support and opportunities for your future career.
Gain knowledge & develop strategies for job search and (work)life blend
Returning to or progressing at work and finding an employer who offers the flexibility you need can be tricky. We'll work with you to update your CV, understand modern, flexible working and find employers who can help you make work work.
Find a peer group of supportive women
As part of an upcoming Making Work Work cohort, you'll be one of a group of likeminded women who understand your situation, share your goals and support you in your aspirations.
Our Programmes
Our current geographical coverage is based on funding we receive from individual local councils. While we may not yet be active in every area, we are always keen to hear from women who need our support. If we don’t currently cover your area, please still get in touch: your interest helps us demonstrate demand and work towards expanding our services.
Making Work Work – for Edinburgh Women
Our Edinburgh returners programme helps women who have previously had a career break or who are now on a career break to make work work for them, their families and their lifestyles. Participants receive training in management and leadership as well as mentoring and employability support.
​
Applications are now open.
Making Work Work – Dumfries & Galloway
Making Work Work – for D&G women has been specially designed to support women returning to work after a career break which has impacted their job prospects. We have been offering live and recorded online training, with expert guidance to help build confidence and refresh professional skills.
​
​
Making Work Work – for Women Returners
Piloted in partnership with The Scottish Government, our original Women Returners programme won a Chartered Management Institute Innovation Prize in 2021. Since then the team has supported more than 150 women to find flexible, fair employment which suits them, their families and their lifestyles.
Our Goals
Regardless of the specific audience we seek to support, the aims of Making Work Work programmes are as follows:
-
To contribute to more positive and productive workplace cultures where people can contribute in a way which fits with their lifestyles and commitments;
-
To improve the diversity of workplaces and address the Gender Pay Gap by supporting women to return to work commensurate with their skills and aspirations and by helping employers to find, recruit and retain them;
-
To lift incomes of families by enabling women to work;
-
To help women to devise (work)life blends that suit them, their families and lifestyles.
Our Partners
Making Work Work Alumni
Making Work Work participants go on to work, start their own businesses and volunteer on their own terms. Here are some of their stories.
The Challenges Group,
7 Montgomery Street Lane,
Edinburgh, EH7 5JT
