Have you ever wanted to take a career break? Its an attractive idea, but at some point you might want to come back into the government. A bill sponsored by Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton would establish what it calls a first-ever returnship program. The Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with her for more details.

Interview transcript:

Tom Temin Listeners should know I did not speak with her directly. A neurological disorder coupled with Parkinson’s disease has taken away Congresswoman Wexton’s speech function. She wrote her answers and used assistive technology to voice them. Tell us what type of person you’re targeting this bill for. Some people go to work for the private sector and then they decide to come back. Or people have other reasons for perhaps needing to leave their job temporarily.

Jennifer Wexton Right now, too many American workers are forced to make sacrifices to their careers to take care of their family or loved ones. Whether it’s for a newborn baby or an elderly parent, when someone leaves the workforce for temporary caretaking responsibilities, it results in major setbacks in their career trajectory, as well as a loss of talent and expertise for their employer. I’ve heard from federal employees in my district in Virginia who have taken career breaks about the struggles they face when trying to reenter the workforce, often needing to take a demotion in position or wait much longer than they’d like to get back into a job that fits their skill set. That’s a lose-lose situation for the worker and their employer. One challenge, which the federal workforce in particular has long faced, is attracting and maintaining top talent in their ranks. The skills and institutional knowledge that these workers possess is essential to helping our federal agencies run effectively and deliver the services that every American relies on. From researchers at our science agencies to workers processing Social Security claims, our federal employees have unique responsibilities and talents which are a benefit to the entire country. And without them, government runs less effectively and efficiently. When those talented professionals aren’t able to easily reenter the workforce after a career break, it worsens brain drain from the federal workforce. And now, more than ever, we want to be sure that we’re doing all we can to keep the best and brightest in our public service. And women are disproportionately impacted over the course of their careers. More than two thirds of women say that they have taken a career break and they shouldn’t be punished professionally for needing to do so. The barriers women face to reentering the workforce lead to injustices for women in the workplace, including lower pay, the motherhood penalty, as well as fewer opportunities to advance into executive and management roles. Giving these workers the tools to more easily get back into jobs where their skills and experience can be put to the best use is good for our government and the lives and livelihoods of the employees.

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Tom Temin And what would this bill require of federal agencies that are presented with someone that wants to come back? And maybe it’s been a while and the job is filled. What would they have to do differently, do you think?

Jennifer Wexton My Return USA Act would establish the first of its kind returnship program for our federal workforce. Empowering workers with the tools and opportunities to get back into the workforce and protect critical knowledge and expertise within our civil service. The federal returnship program would seek to help those federal workers coming back from a career break into an appropriate full time position by providing them with onboarding, training, mentorship and professional leadership development opportunities over the course of at least one year. It’s tailored for mid-career professionals and offers opportunities that uniquely help them get back on the job to continue their career trajectory within our civil service, and welcome back their important talent and knowledge to where it can be put to best use. Specifically, a unique program hiring path would be made available on the USA jobs.gov site for prospective participants in the returnships program. The program would also help pave the way for greater equity within the federal workforce by prioritizing opportunities for underrepresented populations and as much as possible providing wraparound services like childcare for those returning from a break to care for their kids.

Tom Temin Sounds like this is not aimed at young people new in their careers or to long time employees nearing retirement.

Jennifer Wexton Returnships are like internships for mid-career professionals. They’re also sometimes referred to as career reentry or return to work programs. And they offer support, resources and training for those who have taken a career break and are now ready to get back into the workforce without starting over or going backwards in their professional careers. They often follow one of two paths: either intent-to-hire, which is used by most large companies, or experiential. Intent-to-hire returnship programs connect the returning worker to an open role that they would move into after completing the program. The position is generally not guaranteed, but the goal and assumption is that after going through the training and guidance offered by the returnship, that worker is ready to jump back into the workforce and meet the needs of that role. In an experiential return ship program, workers participate in short-term paid work opportunities without the expectation of converting into a permanent role. The goal in these programs is to allow the worker to gain high quality professional experience and set themselves up for an appropriate new job, overcoming the resumé gap bias that is a barrier to many returning professionals. The federal government currently has no formal returnship programs established, but over a third of Fortune 50 companies use returnships to help meet workforce needs and avoid talent loss. They’re especially common in the tech, finance and defense industries, where workers possess unique skills and experience which are difficult to easily or quickly replace. I believe the work of our civil servants fits into that category as well.

Tom Temin Returnship — is this idea unique to the government?

Jennifer Wexton The federal returnship program follows the successful model of private sector programs, as well as nonfederal government returnships to help set employees get back to work and maintain key knowledge within our federal agencies. The program proposed in my Return USA Act would establish similar training, mentorship and support services that have proven to be successful in helping professionals in other fields get back into the workforce. Returnships are a growing tool used by companies across the country, and I believe it’s past time that our government joins in on this win-win opportunity for workers and our agencies. That’s why I’m proud to have the support of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Society of Women Engineers for this legislation. Over 80% of participants in returnships get hired after their programs because their employers see the value in their years of experience and unique skills bring to the table. They’ve given a boost to women and workers who disproportionately suffer the professional consequences of taking a career break to care for loved ones. And like our federal government, the companies who have made use of these programs have made progress in maintaining the unique talents of their workforce, which are helping their companies thrive. A federal returnship program would be a major boost for our federal workforce and the important work they do for the American people.

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