The decades-long career is in decline. And for many, that’s a good thing.

“Tacking swiftly from job to job and field to field, learning new skills all the while, resembles the pattern that increasingly defines our careers,” writes Anya Kamenetz in Fast Company magazine.

How swiftly?

According to federal statistics, as of 2010, the median number of years U.S. workers had been in their jobs was 4.4 years.

Intel is the first company to make Encore Fellowships – paid, part-time, yearlong assignments working at local nonprofits – available to all of its eligible pre-retiree employees nationwide.

It’s a bold move that could signal a sea change in corporate retirement benefits and bring a new wave of talent into the nonprofit sector.

The Silicon Valley Encore Fellows program has received top marks in an independent evaluation. The success of the 2009 pilot program, which tested a new way for experienced employees to transition from corporate to nonprofit careers, led to a new crop of fellows being matched with nonprofits during 2010 and plans for expanding the program to more cities.