Kier, the property, residential and services group, is hoping to attract more women who are returning to work to join the construction industry.

The company is partnering with the Women's Engineering Society (WES) and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) to offer a tailored STEM returners programme for the UK engineering and construction sector.

Kier has been involved in some of the county's major construction projects including the redevelopment of the former magistrates court building in Gloucester, the building of the new £7.5million Gloucester bus station and the Brewery development in Cheltenham.

The pilot scheme, now taking applications, says it is open to potential recruits looking for a career within the built environment and will offer successful candidates a structured placement with a full mentoring system.

The Kier returnship programme aims to make the transition back to work a successful, stress-free and long-term one. The scheme is open to professionals from across the country, looking to return to work after a career break (of one year or more.), with experience in the construction and engineering sector or transferable skills from other fields. Those interested have until 2 January to apply.

All successful applicants will undertake a tailored 13 week programme, based on their personal requirements and needs. Each person will receive two coaching sessions by WES, offering support and confidence before returning to the workplace.

A mentor will also be assigned by Kier and WES, who will be on hand throughout the programme and beyond to provide support. At the end of 13 weeks, Kier has the opportunity to make ongoing offers of employment.

Currently, 427,000 female professionals, including directors, engineers, scientists, researchers, doctors, lawyers and accountants, are taking career breaks but want to return to the workforce in the future.

But three in five professional women (around 249,000) returning to the workforce are likely to move into lower-skilled or lower-paid roles, experiencing an immediate earnings reduction of up to a third.

Some 29,000 women who return to the workforce on a part-time basis will be underemployed, meaning that they would prefer to work more hours if flexible working opportunities were made more widely available.

Jan Atkinson, talent & organisation development director at Kier said: "We know returning to work after a career break can be extremely daunting. At Kier, we welcome talented people - be it from this industry or elsewhere - and want them to be a part of our dynamic and exciting company.

"We have a wide breadth of opportunities available and we will look at applicants' transferable skills to see where they would fit best within the company."

For more information on the Returnship programme, visit: www.stemreturners.com/returner-registration.