UBS and AGSM offer career comeback program for Australian women

19 November 2007

A new partnership initiative between UBS and AGSM Executive Programs will help professional women returning to the work force to refresh their business and technical skills and provide them with important networking opportunities.

The UBS Career Comeback program, developed with AGSM Executive Programs, is a free two day program designed for professional women re-entering the workforce after a significant break of anywhere between 18 months and seven years.

Contending with a dynamic business environment, technological advances and regulatory changes can be daunting when preparing to re-enter the professional landscape and this program has been designed to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Brad Orgill, Chairman & CEO, UBS Investment Bank, Australasia states “This innovative program is the first of its kind to run in Australia. UBS Career Comeback offers a practical and commercial course for returning professional women, equipping them with business and networking tools to ease their transition back into the workforce.”

Recent studies suggest that women in particular, face a number of obstacles when returning to the workforce including a diminished personal network and increased family responsibilities. Through self-assessments, teamwork and individual mentoring, AGSM Executive Programs and UBS will help participants address these issues and develop an action plan for re-entering the workforce.

AGSM Program Director Dr Melinda Muth, a management specialist who will lead the two-day program, says that it will specifically tackle the competing demands of work and family responsibilities.

“Many women choose to take a career break to raise or care for family and face significant challenges in returning to the workforce. They need to re-establish networks, get up to speed on business developments and technological changes, and also examine their own definitions of career success and how that influences their developmental needs,” says Dr Muth.

The program has been developed for professional women with a minimum of five years experience and a university degree who have taken a career break for between 18 months and seven years. It will focus on updating critical business and technical skills, and assist participants with building individual transition strategies.

“The Career Comeback program will help women considering a return to the workforce assess their own employment needs and identify what they can do to best prepare themselves for future employment opportunities,” says Dr Muth.

Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to network with peers and business leaders from the Australian School of Business, UBS and the wider business community.

Professor Wai Fong Chua, Senior Associate Dean at the Australian School of Business, and a key academic on the program, recognises the importance of the Career Comeback program.

“AGSM Executive Programs, the leader in executive education in Australia, is proud to be working with UBS to bring returning professional women this forward-thinking initiative. It will enable women to transition into fast-changing workplaces by updating them with changes in the contemporary business landscape and the competencies required to be successful.”

This program was piloted in conjunction with UBS at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in March this year. The highly successful program will also be hosted by UBS Hong Kong in partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

The two-day program will be held in Sydney on 14 and 15 November and will be free of charge to successful applicants.

For more information on Career Comeback Programs please visit www.ubs.com/careercomeback and www.agsm.edu.au/cc

Contacts:
Caroline Gurney, UBS Media Relations Australasia +61 2 9324 3335 (M) +61 403 279 605
Hollie Jenkins, Porter Novelli +61 2 8424 8538 (M) +61 402 843 933

About AGSM Executive Programs
The Australian School of Business delivers executive education through AGSM Executive Programs. AGSM Executive Programs is one of the leading providers of executive education in the Asia Pacific region and Australia’s consistent leader. AGSM Executive Programs offer a diverse range of opportunities to develop new management skills and network with business leaders, with a focus on leadership, strategy, change, innovation and sustainability.

About UBS
UBS is one of the world’s leading financial firms, serving a discerning international client base. Its business, global in scale, is focused on growth. As an integrated firm, UBS creates added value for clients by drawing on the combined resources and expertise of all its businesses.

UBS is the leading global wealth manager, a top tier investment banking and securities firm, and one of the largest global asset managers. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, with about 39% of its employees working in the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 17% in the rest of Europe and 10% in Asia Pacific. UBS's financial businesses employ some 80,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SWX Swiss Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).