Multinational food and beverage organisation PepsiCo has launched a paid return-to-work programme to help individuals re-enter the workforce after taking a career break.
Ready to Return is a 10 to 12-week paid programme targeted at men and women who have been on a career break for two years or more.
The programme, which has been designed to help individuals refresh their skills before re-entering the workplace, includes mentoring and coaching support as well as training. This aims to help returners improve their current skill set, in addition to building new competencies.
Candidates taking part in the programme will be considered for suitable open roles at PepsiCo on the completion of the 10 to 12-week period.
The programme is available for past employees of PepsiCo, as well as individuals new to the organisation.
The Ready to Return programme forms part of PepsiCo’s overall diversity strategy, which uses global recruitment and development initiatives to create a diverse workforce. This also includes the Strategies for Success programme, which provides personal coaching, mentoring and peer group learning to female middle-managers, a mentoring partnership with the Inspiring Women campaign to break down gender stereotypes at work and a summer and winter hours scheme. This allows employees whose roles are not time critical to work compressed hours and leave early on Fridays during June, July, August and December.
The programme was originally piloted at PepsiCo in the US in 2017. All pilot participants were offered contract extensions and half of the candidates are now in full-time employment at the organisation.
Applications for Ready to Return close on 22 June 2018.
Jesper Petersen, vice president, human resources at PepsiCo UK and Ireland, said: “Attracting and engaging a diverse range of people is critical to our success and at the heart of our business strategy.
“People who take career breaks, either through necessity or choice, often find it difficult to get their careers back on track. The [Ready to Return] programme gives candidates coaching and support to rebuild their confidence and refresh their skills. We want to attract and retain the best talent out there and hope that this programme will unveil some strong contenders.”