A great time to Launch to IBM Z!
This is a great time for women everywhere who are looking to restart their career, are transitioning, or looking for a career path after successfully raising their kids. Many companies are beginning to understand the need to get women back into the workforce. It is good for the families, good for the economy. A more diverse workforce increases social engagement and reduces societal ills.
At Mom Relaunch (MR) we are very excited to collaborate with IBM Z, who is making the platform available to people coming to MR in search, not just for a job, but a career. Many returnees and transitioners are looking for stable careers and financial freedom. The IBM Z platform will prepare you for roles where you can also leverage your life skills and experiences.
The great thing about the IBM Z platform is that most people who do not have a background in IT or computer programming can also learn on it and begin a career in Enterprise Computing. All you need is a desire to learn and a curious mind. Everything else will fall in place.
Over 100 people joined us at a workshop with IMB Z that we hosted last Wednesday, a great turnout. Sudharsana Srinivasan gave us an introduction to the platform and Elizabeth Joseph ran an awesome hands-on lab to give the participants a flavor of what's possible with IBM Z. Veronica Gilliard from the State of California shared some exciting job opportunities. Rachel Akers from IBM's Tech Re-entry program & Shelly Meierarend, NA Client Skills leader, also shared many more career opportunities that exist in Enterprise Computing.
About Mom Relaunch (MR):
Founded by Reena Gupta, at MR our mission is to make women financially independent. Being at MR is a transformative experience. In simple words, the launchpad here is like a playground where people can choose to work on whatever interests you. In the last few months I have been here, I have been doing many projects where I have been able to put my varied skills to good use. At MR you are free to learn and explore new things, get advice from others, or work on real hands-on projects to figure out if that’s the right career path for you. Nothing is handed to you on a platter because the goal here is to train you to be self-sufficient. This is the reason why none of the people we have placed have been let go.
A little about me:
When I decided to go back to work after a long career break, I had no idea exactly what I was going to do. I have had two quite different careers in advertising and urban planning. In the last few years that I have not worked, I have been able to put skills I had learned during those careers to good use. Along the way, I picked up many new skills too.
I started looking to get back to work, in a full-time job, about 2 years ago. I knew I was capable and ready to handle all sorts of challenges, projects and responsibilities. But when trying to choose a path, like many women in my shoes, all kinds of thoughts befuddled me - like how to market my skills, what to focus on, whether to go back to my old career and restart from scratch, how to get into something I really want to do. I started learning things such as Agile & Scrum, among others. After having gone through many networking events, informational interviews, and several getting back to work programs, I was still not able to find a job. I met Reena Gupta, the founder of Mom Relaunch (MR) while working alongside her in a volunteering role. She offered me to come work for Mom Relaunch.
While I mull over learning on IBM Z, I do want to say that the opportunity they have opened up for people everywhere is tremendous and I urge anyone who’s looking to kickstart an IT career, to seriously consider a career in Enterprise Computing.
If you missed our event, catch the recording and the hands-on lab at http://ibm.biz/launchtoz.