OREANDA-NEWS. General Motors today announced an innovative pilot internship program aimed at experienced women engineers who are interested in returning to the workforce after a two or more year career break.

Take 2 is a 12-week internship for women with technical backgrounds in vehicle engineering, manufacturing engineering, or manufacturing operations. As part of this program, interns will receive training, professional development, and the opportunity to network with other technical leaders to gain exposure to and understanding of GM’s structure and functional areas. This program is part of a larger initiative to increase the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) talent pipeline driven by the Society of Women Engineers and iRelaunch, a career re-entry firm.

“GM is proud to be a founding member of the STEM Re-entry Task force, and understands there are many high-caliber, technical women who have taken a break from their careers and are ready to come back to work but may feel out of touch with their former professional network,” said Kristen Siemen, executive director Global Thermal Engineering and executive champion of the program. “The Take 2 program provides them a unique opportunity to refresh their skills and rebuild their network while working on real engineering programs for GM.”

Other founding members of the STEM Re-entry Task Force include Booz Allen Hamilton, Caterpillar, Cummins, IBM, Intel and Johnson Controls.

“We’re looking for experienced engineers, and there are qualified, capable women who are interested in returning to the workforce to pursue new and challenging opportunities – it’s a win-win, and one commitment among many we’ve made to support women’s careers at GM,” said John Quattrone, Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources.