WHO: Seventeen Michigan Shifting Gears participants will celebrate completion of the career transition program. The Michigan Shifting Gears program helps seasoned professionals move into new career opportunities by leveraging their business knowledge and experience in new ways.
WHAT: A "graduation" celebration - hosted by TechTown with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Sensei Change Associates - will honor the achievements of program participants.
WHEN: June 30, 2011, 5-7:30 p.m. (MEDIA ARE INVITED TO MIX AND MINGLE WITH PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS FROM 5-5:30 p.m.)
WHERE: The Guardian Building, 500 Griswold, Detroit, 32nd Floor
BACKGROUND: Michigan Shifting Gears seeks highly skilled and talented professionals who want to increase their effectiveness and capabilities for the dynamic environment of small business. The four-month program's results are impressive: 35 percent of participants land new jobs within three months, 55 percent land positions within six months, and 80 percent find work within nine or more months. During the course of the innovative program, participants receive a career transformation assessment and professional career coaching, attend eight days of workshops, learn the differences between the old and new economies, attend peer networking events, participate in mock job interviews and resume reviews, and complete a three-day small business simulation. Each participant is also assigned a volunteer mentor from the business community and is required to complete an 80-hour pro bono internship with a start-up business. Mentors work one-on-one with participants to provide feedback on the career development process, improving small business skills and communicating effectively during the hiring process.
"Shifting Gears helps executives from large corporations transfer their skill sets to new opportunities," said Entrepreneurial Talent Champion Faris Alami, who organizes the Shifting Gears program at TechTown. "It helps them find the jobs in our new economy and gives them powerful career development tools."
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Mike Finney hail Shifting Gears as an innovative way to harness the immense, yet underutilized talent in Southeast Michigan. Finney describes the benefits of Shifting Gears in the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuVkQDI2TE
TechTown regularly holds free information sessions and webinars on Shifting Gears. Participation in either is mandatory to apply for acceptance into the Shifting Gears program. To learn more visit http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Michigan-Shifting-Gears/
Media should RSVP for the June 30 celebration by Monday, June 27, 2011, to Francine Wunder at francine@techtownwsu.org.
ABOUT TECHTOWN
TechTown, Wayne State's research and technology park, is an urban community of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and partners creating an internationally influential village in Detroit. TechTown brings the resources of Wayne State University to high-technology startup companies to diversify and strengthen Michigan's economy in high-growth emerging industries. For more information, visit http://www.techtownwsu.org/.
Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.