The New Interns

“A two year long break took a huge toll on my career graph,” says Sahni who holds an engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology,Bhopal,and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM),Bangalore. “Despite a good educational background,I lacked in the ‘continuous work experience’ department. My confidence level dropped,” she adds. Sahni was based in the United States for a long period of time before she returned to Pune. “I realised how companies here are still hesitant to hire young women who have taken a sabbatical,” she adds.

SCIP has entered its fourth edition now. “With features like telecommuting,part-time work and flexi-hours amongst others,this programme helps women re-enter the corporate world and maintain a balance between work and life,” says Radhakrishnan Nair,head-talent acquisition,human resources,Tata Services. Women who join SCIP are allotted projects in line with their qualifications and experience. They are also provided with training mentors to get “them into the groove of working.”

To help them balance their career and personal life,as the SCIP participants are new mothers,they are trained to update their skills and re-build their confidence to return to work. “An IT sector job demands 14 hours of work every day. With such small kids,I could not venture into a full time career so soon. SCIP happened to me just at the right time,” shares Sahni who was initially sceptical about her decision to join the programme. “I was not sure of applying but when I learnt that SCIP allows work-from-home opportunities,I decided to take the plunge,” she adds.

This year,SCIP has already received entries from 2000 women around the country. A stipend of Rs 20,000 and a work certificate assures a smooth entry into the corporate world once they complete their internships.