Association supporting people in getting back to work
Lucerne/Rotkreuz - The Companies & Returnships Network is a non-profit association that supports women in particular as they look to re-enter the working world. The initiators from the HSLU have conducted a study in the context of the shortage of skilled workers in which they sought to ascertain how the return to work can be expedited.
Anyone looking to return to work after a career break for family or health reasons is often confronted with a lack of employer flexibility and unsuitable working time models. Overall, 73 percent of those returning to work, who are often well trained and motivated, want to get back to work on a part-time basis. This is confirmed by a study recently conducted by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) and the School of Engineering and Management Vaud. In the study, the research group dealt with the challenges and opportunities for returning to work in Switzerland.
According to an article in the newspaper “Luzerner Zeitung”, the Federal Statistical Office showed for 2016 that a total of 84,000 mothers would like to go back to work. According to the information, more up-to-date and probably significantly higher figures are to be published in October. “A gap in the CV is still perceived as a major obstacle”, says study co-author and HSLU lecturer Evelin Bermudez. There is also a lot of untapped potential against the background of the increasing shortage of skilled workers.
In addition to Bermudez, the research group included three other scientists from HSLU. Together with them, she founded the non-profit association Companies & Returnships Network in January 2020. It shows its members the added value of re-entry programs and supports companies in their efforts to introduce, implement and evaluate them. Roche Diagnostics International, the Schindler Group, UBS, Swiss Re, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Central Switzerland and Lucerne Business have joined the association. It is also supported by the cantons of Zug, Zurich and Lucerne.
Hochschule Luzern Wirtschaft, Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug IFZ
