Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

IBM Training Employees To Leave IBM?

Posted by Zonk on from the community-service dept.

lucabrasi999 writes "IBM just launched a new program that will encourage some employees to earn teaching certificates and degrees. IBM will help defray the costs of these new degrees. With those newly earned degrees, the IBM employee would then become a 'former' IBM employee who moves onto a career as a public school math or science teacher. While it seems odd that IBM would encourage employees to switch careers, the point is that IBM is trying to help offset an expected shortage in the number of math and science teachers in the United States." From the article: "While many companies encourage their employees to tutor schoolchildren or do other things to get involved in education, IBM believes it is the first to guide workers toward switching into a teaching career. The company expects older workers nearing retirement to be the most likely candidates, partly because they would have more financial wherewithal to take the pay cut that becoming a teacher likely would entail."

6 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Well by Anonymous+Crowhead · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's nicer than firing them.

  2. bring over all the laid-off people from europe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    math & science with a french accent?

  3. Re:Random thought... by Otter · · Score: 4, Funny
    I agree that this is the most cuddly downsizing ever, but am still not sure that IBM deserves quite as much love for this as they're getting.

    Anyway, until they drive a stake through the heart of Lotus Notes they can't claim to have fully abandoned evil...

    --
    What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
  4. Re:Random thought... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Apple is the "cannot do evil" company these days on /. Steve Jobs could be caught having anal sex with children and the Apple apologists on /. would explain that pedophilia is a good thing because it teaches children about the real world.

  5. Re:Random thought... by hendridm · · Score: 4, Funny
    With moves like this and their support of the open source scene, you'd think that they'd be Slashdot's new baby by now.

    We're still recovering from Lotus Notes.

  6. No more math teachers by xchino · · Score: 4, Funny

    Look, there's already an estimated 50,000 math teachers in the US. This move by IBM may add another 5,000. Who the hell needs 75,000 math teachers?

    --
    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.