Since 2009, our country’s economy has improved and the overall unemployment rate has gone down from 10 percent. But among African-Americans, the unemployment rate is still much higher; about 9.5 percent during the third quarter of 2015, compared to only a 4.5 percent rate for other groups.
It is no secret that the problems with the education system, a lack of employment opportunities, and complex social issues are affecting the African-American community. Because of this, a large segment of African-American youth is under-educated and under-employed. For example, the high-school dropout rate in Oakland, CA (where there is a large population of African-American students) is currently around 50% and has been well above the national average for many years. And for those who enter college, the dropout rate is even worse.
Working to change the game by empowering high-potential, low-resource students in this community was one of the primary reasons Base 11 was founded, and that’s why Sig Anderman, founder and chairman emeritus of Ellie Mae, is partnering with them to bring to life his Springboard vision. In an effort to diversify Silicon Valley and other high-tech regions by training African-American youth for jobs that are in high demand by tech companies, Anderman and Base 11 are launching the “Springboard Initiative”—a bold mission to employ 100,000 African-American students in software development (coding) and tech support jobs by 2025.
With this win-win business model, thousands of innovative tech companies in the San Francisco Bay area and across America can recruit high-tech employees and fix the massive shortage of talent they are all facing. The Springboard Initiative uses Base 11’s signature workforce development curriculum design and training model to partner with corporate employers, local community colleges, and community-based organizations to recruit, train, and employ high-potential, low-resource students in entry-level tech jobs in just 12 months or less!
This vocational training will be designed to have universal applications in the high-tech world, and will work with potential employers to tailor programs to their specific needs. Immediately upon graduation, students will be able to begin productive careers as entry-level technical employees with participating companies.
Ellie Mae will actively participate in the pilot program: Working in direct collaboration with Base 11 to define the job specifications and requirements for employment at Ellie Mae, the processes for integration of newly minted graduates, and providing apprenticeships and jobs for the first group of graduates. The first cohort of students will be recruited and trained later this year.
The driving goal will be to have 100,000 students recruited, trained, and placed in high-tech jobs within the next ten years! Ellie Mae is just the first of several high-tech companies to step up and sign on to be a Springboard corporate employer partner, and more companies are being interviewed now to join.
Find out how you can do your part to create a sustainable middle-class in America by helping to lift up high-potential, low-resource students and placing them into promising careers: http://base11.com/Partners/BecomeAPartner