ENCORE PATHWAY: IBM shows employees the way to nonprofit careers
Posted 08/01/2008 - 2:11pm
in
IBM plans to make it easier for its experienced employees to transition to second careers in nonprofits through a partnership with Bridgespan.
The two organizations announced today that they will build a program and online platform that helps IBM employees and retirees assess their readiness for nonprofit positions, identify potential opportunities and skills required, apply for jobs with nonprofits and receive mentoring. Once it’s perfected, the pilot project will be made available to other nonprofits and corporations that wish to start similar endeavors.
The project is designed to help fill the talent gap identified in a Bridgespan study that found that 640,000 new nonprofit leaders will be needed by 2016, primarily due to boomer retirements and growth of the nonprofit sector.
It builds on a desire by many boomers to do work that is meaningful to themselves and to society, said Marc Freedman, president of Civic Ventures, which publishes Encore.org. “The transition isn’t an easy one,” he noted. “This partnership between IBM and Bridgespan will provide a clear path from the end of a midlife career to an encore career for the greater good. It’s a great service for employees and a model for other employers to follow.”
“We’re delighted to be working with IBM to create transitions to the nonprofit sector for their employees and retirees. They have real heart,” said David Simms, managing partner of Bridgestar, a Bridgespan offshoot that attracts, connects and supports nonprofit leaders.
The program is similar to IBM’s Transition to Teaching initiative, launched in 2005, which addresses the national teacher shortage by helping employees interested in second careers become K-12 math and science teachers. More than 100 employees are participating in that program, which has been adopted by other companies and governments. On example is California’s EnCorps Teacher Initiative.
The partnership with Bridgespan is part of IBM’s Global Citizen’s Portfolio, which includes a pilot program with the Partnership for Public Service called FedExperience that is matching IBM employees with jobs in the federal government.
To learn how IBM is helping employees learn to work in teams in the global marketplace, click here.
- Terry Nagel's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- by Terry Nagel
- Email this Blog entry
Retirement does not have to mean the end of positive work.
pcooper@aging.nyc.gov
Thanks for sharing this information. It just goes to show that perhaps retirement does not have to mean the end of positive work contributions to society, productivity or "one’s working years." Question: Should this be a matter of personal choice?
IBM
An article in the September 8 issue of BusinessWeek says IBM has pledged to contribute $250 million over the next three years to expand this program, which it describes as a corporate version of the Peace Corps.
Click here to read the article, “IBM Pledges $250M for Volunteer Program.”
IBM's attempts to help employees with second career
My comments are based upon my personal experience working for IBM for 26 years. Many years ago IBM encouraged its managers to have a paternalistic attitude towards their employees. After losing my job in the layoffs of 1994, where almost 45% of the company’s US employees were laid off, I now have a very different opinion of IBM.
In the years since 1994, IBM has systematically reduced benefits to retirees and not given them a raise in pension to complenstate for cost of living increases. The medical plan offered to retirees is expensive, has large deductibles and has limited coverage.
If you think they are acting in an enlightened fashion, think again about how they have treated their retirees.
Actions Not Words
Thanks for posting this. Far… far too often corporate PR dominates the media with little voice given to present and past workers treatment. American workers lack an adequate social safety net compared to other developed countries’. The dependence on the “goodwill” of employers to take care of their workers is, and has been misplaced. More voices like yours are needed to express the larger reality of corporate mistreatment of their retirees.
Aside from the lack of access to the media, past and present employees fear retribution by their employer if they speak out. So again, thank you for your courage in posting this.