IBM Training Employees To Leave IBM?

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."

Comments

PR

[daniil]

My guess is, they're just trying to pick up some good karma, "encouraging" people to pick up a teaching career and leave, instead of just laying them off life HP did. That way, they'll be able to cut their employment costs, at the same time still retaining a positive image.

Re:PR

[Namronorman]

I honestly don't think so. As the article said, the most likely candidates will be the ones near retirement.

As much as you and I may fear it, today's generation is tommorow's work force, and a lot of that work will have to do with math and science. I know when I was in school, math and science classes seemed to be lacking, or sometimes more advanced classes weren't even available. This might not show an immediate success, but over time it could change a lot of people's minds about math and science and open a way for people who want to learn these subjects more.

Go IBM.

[Anonymous Coward]

If there's anything America needs, it's more science teachers.

Sometimes, there's just no other choice.

[topical_surfactant]

My (engineer) father was axed from his company one year before retirement. No one wants to hire an aging engineer in this market, so he took up high-school teaching as a last resort. It was a huge pay cut, but at least he could maintain medical benefits. He has an 70 mile commute every morning, since entry-level teachers were not in high demand.

Re:Too bad the Gov. won't step up like this.

[Jherek Carnelian]

every year a greater percentage of the engineers that I work with are Indian or Asian. A few decades ago, we were world technology leaders, all with home grown talent.

Now we're less educated than ever before.

Almost all of those immigrant engineers have degrees from American universities and as long as the majority continue to settle here and become permanent residents, then they are us.