Term-Time Employment

With this innovative program, AECOM hope to attract talented engineers that may have stepped away from a career in engineering and construction due to a lack of flexibility, and in particular support more women to relaunch their careers in the industry.

FlexCareers is incredibly excited to be partnering with global infrastructure firm AECOM on an industry-first, term-time only contracts for working parents!

Designed to encourage qualified engineers and scientists to return to an industry they may have left because it was impossible to balance work and primary care responsibilities, this new initiative will allow parents or grandparents, to spend all 12 weeks of the school holidays caring for their children while receiving a monthly pro-rata salary.

AECOM Chief Executive for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Todd Battley said, "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. 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 target an extensive network of parents and guardians who are seeking flexibility to manage childcare responsibilities. Roles will be advertised through the FlexCareers job board and our team will ensure the support is available to help parents transition back to the workplace."

It's a bold move forward in an industry that has lagged behind when it comes to workplace flexibility, and fitting that it should come from AECOM, a company that already championed flexible working across the organisation, and has been recognised by Engineers Australia and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as a leader on gender diversity and pay equality in a sector that has typically underperformed in this regard.

Natalie Goldman, Chief Executive Officer of FlexCareers said, "We are delighted to partner with AECOM on this innovative program. FlexCareers has more than 100,000 talented women in our network, many of whom have previously been unable to secure roles commensurate with their skills and experience, due to a lack of workplace flexibility. FlexCareers provides job seekers with transparency and the certainty that employers truly champion flexible working. We will be working closely with AECOM to ensure that all applicants for this program are fully supported throughout the recruitment process."

The new term-time contracts are available to anyone that is responsible for school-aged children including, for example, foster-carers children 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.

Leading the initiative for AECOM is ANZ Human Resources Director Helen Fraser, who said, “I regularly speak 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, and we are confident that it will appeal to both men and women with caring responsibilities.”

Talk to us to see if term time could work for you

If you struggle to get the flexibility you need with your current employer, or had given up on a career in engineering because you couldn't balance work and family commitments, we encourage you to apply for this program.

To browse and apply for vacancies in Australia click here and for New Zealand click here.

Good luck with your application!