Gill Oliver learns that there is still a workplace role for women who have raised a family

After a 10-year break to bring up her children, human relations consultant Anna Gage found returning to the workplace “scary and exhilarating”.

She considered reviving her previous career as a personal assistant but rapidly realised her “IT skills were not up to those of a 24-year-old”.

It might also have included working evenings and travelling, which wasn’t compatible with family life.

After thought, she enrolled on to a masters degree in human relations at Brookes University.

She said: “My place was dependent on finding a job, partly to pay for my studies but also because the course involved work-based assignments.”

A temporary role as a part-time administrator for a large charity proved a good stepping stone back into the world of work.

She added: “There was empathy in that 30 per cent of the workforce were women working part-time.

“But it was an open-plan office with 50 or 60 people, so it was scary and exhilarating at the same time.”

Her willingness to throw herself into her new role saw her career thrive and, while still on the course, she was transferred to the human relations office and had a full-time post when she completed her masters in 2012.

Far from being a hindrance, the 51-year-old believes being a returner can be a positive factor in sectors such as HR.

She pointed out: “Age is an advantage because when you are dealing with something uncomfortable, such as someone losing their job, it’s helpful to have life experience.”

This month Ms Gage set up her own HR consultancy as a licensee of national firm the HR Dept, providing advice and practical support for small and medium-sized firms.

She pointed out: “I could have stayed in the job with the charity. They didn’t want me to leave.

“But there was no obvious career path for me and I felt I didn’t have time to slowly go up the pole. I had to find a way of short cutting it.”

The fact Ms Gage proved such an asset in the workplace will be no surprise to many firms.

New research from office-space provider Regus found that more than a fifth of businesses plan to hire more returning mothers than they did a year ago.

It found greater recognition of the important role these women play in the economy, with 92 per cent saying they valued their experience and skills.

Regus global operations director Celia Donne said: “There is a vast amount of untapped potential among experienced mothers unable to work due to family commitments.

“Flexible working enables companies to tap into this important talent supply and offer returning mothers a way back into the workforce.

“The benefits to businesses are clear – not least, lower staff turnover and associated hiring and training costs.”

Wantage accountancy firm Inca recently recruited a returning mother who had been out of the workplace for five years.

Co-founder Graham Carson said: “She was the right person for the job and our business.

“We don’t regard taking time out to bring up children as a negative in any way, shape or form.

“We weigh up the skills and experience of the individual and ask if they will be compatible in the role and, more importantly, do they have the right attitude to integrate into our company?”

Mr Carson’s reaction is typical of many small and medium-sized enterprises, which tend to be more open to employing returners than Footsie 100 big players, according to Chris Parke.

Mr Parke is chief executive of Thame-based coaching consultancy Talking Talent, which counts Barclays and Vodafone among its clients.

He believes the under-utilisation of women who take time out to raise a family costs the economy billions.

He explained: “Smaller firms look at some of these women and think: ‘Wow, this individual has a blue-chip background, an amazing brain and experience working for organisations much bigger than mine, let’s get them on board.’ “But for really big companies, it’s more of a challenge. They have very rigid processes concerning recruitment and integration of new staff and I am not sure that fits with someone who has taken a career break.

“The other question is how do you get this person back up to speed without giving them such a junior role that it is insulting?”

He added: “If you can negotiate with three children under the age of five, you can negotiate with a board of directors.”