Ladies employment day with KPMG

It was fantastic to work together with a team of female staff from KPMG UK Birmingham office on Wednesday 22nd June supporting a group of ladies from a Birmingham based domestic violence refuge. Aspirations for the employment day organised with KPMG was to help the ladies, who were also mothers with young children, to prepare to move forward in their lives, regain their independence and employment after fleeing domestic violence.

A safe space

The day at our centre was a safe space for the ladies to share their stories, challenges, aspirations and prepare for the world of work.

The day began with an interactive panel discussion with the KPMG ladies talking about the challenges of returning to work after having children or caring for a relative. The clients also had the opportunity to hear the KPMG ladies talk about their own experiences, ask questions and get tips and advice around balancing looking after their family while having a job.

Preparing for work

The Suited for Success team also did a workshop session on dressing for success in a job interview and starting a new job before sharing a lovely lunch spread together provided by KPMG.

The ladies were then dressed, styled and had one-to-one coaching including reviewing their CVs and interview prep. Every lady also left with a goodie bag of make-up also several items of everyday casual wear to top up their wardrobes before leaving to pick up their children from school.

'We've had the best day!'

One lady commented: “I’ve never had anyone tell me how amazing I look.” Another expressing how much she enjoyed the day said: “Thank you so much for this day, I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life, you have really prepared us for the future. We’ve had the best day, we don’t want to leave.” We’re looking forward to continuing working with KPMG UK Birmingham office to arrange further employment days to help support more amazing ladies at the refuge as part of our ‘Return to Work Mums’ work strand. Such a great day! #itswhatwedo #employment #morethanjustasuit #getonboard

In Pictures

See more pictures from the day (N.B The ladies from the refuge asked not to be identified, however gave us permission to take pictures)