PepsiCo Expands Successful "Returnship" Program in South Division With New Job Opportunities for Women Returning to Workforce

In partnership with Path Forward, applications for a 16-week returnship program are now open with expanded roles available across five major Southern hubs

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a successful first year partnership with career empowerment non-profit Path Forward, PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) announces the expansion of its "returnship" program across its South Division. The bigger and better program is part of the division's continued efforts to increase representation in the workforce by recruiting women professionals who have taken time off for caregiving.

The PBNA South Division Returnship program offers 16-week internships to women professionals with a minimum of five years of work experience who have taken at least two years off for caregiving. As a result of the unprecedented success seen in the first year, PBNA South Division is expanding the program, with twelve to fifteen returnship positions open in Supply Chain, Sales, and Commercial fields – more than twice the number of positions available in the 2022 program. Positions are open across PBNA South Division hubs including Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, with Nashville and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area added this year.

The program provides professional development workshops, feedback sessions, networking opportunities and mentorship support to returners as they reenter the workforce. Upon completion of the program, successful participants could also receive full-time PepsiCo job offers. In fact, 80% of the 2022 program participants accepted full-time positions after an average of seven years away from the workforce. Interested participants may apply through February 20^th for consideration in the 2023 program which kicks off during the month of April. For more information about PBNA South Division's Returnship program, including how to apply, please visit PepsiCo Careers. 

"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," said PBNA South Division President, Heather Hoytink. "Programs like these are vital to increasing representation in the workplace and prove that talented women are often hidden in plain sight. We're thrilled to be expanding the program to additional markets and positions in the South to enhance our pipeline of future leaders by tapping into a diverse, motivated yet overlooked talent pool."

"Working with PBNA South Division again reinforces the need and value of our return-to-work program in bringing qualified, deserving candidates to the team," said Path Forward Executive Director, Tami Forman. "Returnships offer caregivers a second chance at a rewarding career, which in turn positively impacts families financially and boosts communities economically."

The PBNA South Division Returnship is guided by PepsiCo's vision of pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), a strategic end-to-end transformation to inspire positive change. The employees and talent behind PBNA beverage brands play an essential role in contributing to this tangible progress toward the company's global purpose of achieving better outcomes for people and the planet.

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
 
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

Path Forward is a nonprofit organization on a mission to empower people to restart their careers after time spent focused on caregiving. We fulfill this mission by working with companies to launch and expand return-to-work programs, including "returnships", that give professionals a jump start back to their careers, while giving companies access to a diverse, untapped talent pool. Since its founding in 2016, Path Forward has worked with more than 100 companies including Amazon, Expedia Group, Grubhub, NBCUniversal, Allstate, Northwell Health, and others. Roughly 80% of the participants in these programs have been hired by the companies where they completed their returnships.

We strive to improve the attraction, retention, and advancement of global and diverse talent to ensure we sustain a high caliber pipeline, and have set a target to reach gender parity in management roles by 2025.

Contact:
Christina Panta
[email protected]
703-473-6806

Brenda Figueroa
[email protected]
818.325.9636

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SOURCE PepsiCo