MUMBAI: In a bid to encourage new mothers to reboot their careers and get back to the workforce, Great Learning, an EdTech company for professional education,  announced the launch of its new initiative, #HerFreshStart. As a part of the initiative, the company will offer a scholarship of up to 80 per cent to selected mothers to enroll for their choice of career-critical programs like data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and dgital marketing.  

According to a report by KPMG, 58 per cent of women feel less confident about getting back to work after pregnancy. The long gap that starts two to three months before delivery and lasts till six months or more after the delivery, takes its toll. This initiative by Great Learning aims to help mothers on a career break regain confidence in their professional abilities through upskilling. Great Learning is inviting people to nominate recent mothers (mothers who have taken a professional break due to maternity) in their circle to comment on our posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with #HerFreshStart and tag Great Learning and JobsForHer. The nominees can then submit their form with a Statement of purpose (SOP) with a brief introduction of their background and why they believe they deserve the scholarship. People can nominate deserving mothers for #HerFreshStart between 7 May and 10 May, by visiting Great Learning’s social media channels- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Mothers can also self-nominate themselves.  

Great Learning co-founder Hari Krishnan Nair said, “Motherhood should be just a pause in a woman’s professional journey and not a full stop. Through this campaign, we aim to amplify the voices of new mothers – their stories, proud moments and career aspirations, and encourage them to return to work strengthened with better skills and credentials. Upskilling could be a game-changer for new moms, with opportunities continuing to open up in fields like analytics, AI, digital marketing and cloud computing.”