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Returning to STEM
Returning to STEM

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

Introduction and guidance

Welcome to the free badged course Returning to STEM. This course is here to help you get back to work in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and is intended for anyone who wants to get back into STEM work after having a break, whether to care for family or because of redundancy or other reasons.

The course lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week there is no problem with pushing on to complete another week’s study.

Each week will include reading, videos and activities. Some will be individual activities in which you will spend time thinking about your own life and experiences, researching a topic or finding information online.

There are also several points in the course where you will need to either reflect on your experience or write other notes. It’s up to you how you keep your notes; for example, online or using a notebook of some sort.

Every week ends with an interactive quizzes, of which Weeks 4 and 8 will provide you with an opportunity to earn a badge to demonstrate your new skills. You can read more on how to study the course and about badges in the next sections.

After completing this course you will be able to:

  • identify key experiences and attributes, and know how to use online tools effectively to be visible
  • identify long-term goals and create an action plan and CV to achieve these
  • know about future trends in STEM employment and where to find STEM jobs online
  • be able to identify mentors and networks that can help with returning to work
  • understand work–life balance solutions and know more about different types of flexible and agile working.

Moving around the course

The easiest way to navigate around the course is through the ‘My course progress’ page. You can get back there at any time by clicking on ‘Back to course’ in the menu bar. It's also good practice, if you access a link from within a course page (including links to the quizzes), to open it in a new window or tab. That way you can easily return to where you’ve come from without having to use the back button on your browser.

Get careers guidance

This course has been included in the National Careers Service [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] to help you develop new skills.