Lockheed Martin Australia has been accepted as the first Aerospace and Defence company to participate in ‘Career Revive’, an Australian Government initiative aimed to support recruitment, and retention of women returning to work following a career break.
Run by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and guided by the expert advice of KPMG consultants, Career Revive will work with Lockheed Martin Australia to implement a number of support mechanisms designed to remove barriers to female workforce participation. As one of 90 businesses to have been selected, Lockheed Martin Australia will receive tailored support and guidance to help to attract, retain, re-skill and support female employees, including through a supported returner program.
Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive, Warren McDonald AO, CSC, says participating in the Career Revive program is part of the company’s commitment to create exceptional opportunities for career growth, personal development and a supportive environment for women who want to return to work at Lockheed Martin Australia, at any point in their careers.
“We enjoy a diverse workforce across our Australian and New Zealand operations with women represented in a wide range of roles, at all levels across the organisation, making critical and valuable contributions to our company performance and success. We understand the importance of needing to take time out of the workforce for a variety of reasons, maybe to start a family, care for a family member, to prepare for a change in career or take an extended break. The Career Revive program will help ensure female employees that want to return are appropriately supported to do so and can continue their careers with us.”
The Career Revive program will see Lockheed Martin Australia participate in a range of activities over 12-months, including design thinking and prototyping exercises, diagnostic activities, co-designing an action plan, mentoring sessions, action learning groups and capability building workshops. Lockheed Martin Australia’s executive sponsor for the program, Regional Director ANZ Lockheed Martin Space, David Ball, said Career Revive would form a central pillar of the company’s employee inclusion and retention strategy going forward.
“While we work hard to ensure the current return to work program and practices align with industry benchmarks, we know there are areas where we could improve and want to take actionable steps to get there.” he said. “More importantly, we also want to acknowledge that our focus is not only on existing female talent but for those who may have taken a break from the workforce and are looking to step back in for an exciting new career opportunity with a company such as ours. By participating in the Career Revive program, this is the next evolution in our journey to become a more inclusive organisation that supports and retains the breadth of female talent we are fortunate to have in our business and those who will join us in the future. It will be an exciting 12 months for our business as we engage with the Career Revive team to shape our future return to work program.”