Dive Brief:

• After reporting success with its returnship program in select cities, PepsiCo Beverages North America will expand the offering to include 12 to 15 positions in supply chain, sales and commercial fields — more than double the number of positions available in 2022, the company announced Jan. 10.
• The program provides returners professional development, networking and mentor support. Successful participants may also receive a full-time job offer upon completion; 80% of program participants in 2022 accepted such an offer, the announcement said.
• "Across PepsiCo, the first cohorts from the Returnship continued to impress us throughout the program. Their previous experience translated into meaningful contributions to the business and informed our decision to make a particularly high percentage of full-time offers," PBNA South Division President, Heather Hoytink, said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

In recent years, returnships have emerged as one way to bring caregivers — especially women who take time off to care for children — back into the workforce. PepsiCo’s program specifically targets women with at least five years of work experience who have taken at least two years off for caregiving.

Various companies, including Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Schneider Electric, offer some form of returnship, many of them specifically targeting women. Many women were driven out of the workforce during the pandemic amid the closure of day cares and schools, putting immense pressure on caregivers to stay at home. 

But many of those women who left want a way back into the working world, various studies have shown. While 1 in 5 women left the workforce during the pandemic, according to a study released in 2021 by Metlife in partnership with Rainmakers CSI, nearly two-thirds of those who left planned to return. Returnships give women a chance to recoup lost time, experts previously told HR Dive, and give employers an opportunity to fill talent gaps with skilled workers.