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When the pandemic turned our lives upside down, leaders all across the country found themselves drawing on a particular set of skills: empathy, resilience, stress tolerance. These were the go-to skills to support their teams, protect their wellbeing and keep them functioning.
Amid the chaos, caring for each other was paramount.
Yet for such an important set of skills, we often overlook an obvious way to develop them: caring as a parent, guardian or unpaid carer.
Like millions of others across the country, many people have taken time to look after their children. As you negotiate toddlers into car seats, prevent World War Three breaking out between siblings and ease their frustrations and worries with an empathetic ear, parents are utilising what the World Economic Forum has recognised as some of the most important skills required for future business success.
Unfortunately, in the current status quo, this doesn’t add to many people’s professional currency. To employees caring for your children can be seen as taking ‘time out’ and it may impact careers for decades. Sadly. 65% of women who take time out to care for others, face being professionally downgraded when returning to the workforce.
This is a phenomenon not just confined to parenting. Ultimately, all types of caring experiences aren’t recognised as a credible form of skills development. There are 13.6million unpaid carers in the UK who are developing these skills each and every and often having to take time out of work to do so. Caring for others is an incredible thing to do, but it can also be really, really hard.
(In)Credible, a social enterprise set up in the wake of the pandemic, is dedicated to rebranding caring as a valuable form of skills development to help people progress in their careers, whilst bringing crucial human skills into the professional world.
“We’re delighted that Acre support our mission and will work with us to transform recruitment to embrace caring experience.
Our first step is to survey those who have cared for others to understand the skills they’re developing and how it’s impacted their careers. This will help us develop tools for employers to embrace this experience.” - Jen Scarlett, Founder
To support their mission, please click here to complete the survey. For everyone who completes the survey and leaves their email address where indicated will be entered into the prize draw and one lucky winner will receive £200 worth of products from The Body Shop.
To learn more and follow their mission you can also follow them on LinkedIn and Instagram.
