Dive Brief:
- Calls for diversity have particularly seized the tech sector. To solve the problem, some entrepreneurial start-ups are now "creating programs, incubators or accelerators to train blacks and Hispanics for tech jobs," according to the New York Times.
- These small firms see an opportunity in helping name-brand tech employers find the right talent to achieve those diversity goals. They also seek to help minorities develop the right skills to land those jobs.
- Their timing looks right. The Times reports that data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found there are more black and Hispanic students graduating with computer science degrees than there are working at tech jobs, even with more campus recruitment efforts happening.
Dive Insight:
The Times mentions small firms like NewME in California and Blue1647 in Illinois, formed by entrepreneurs to cultivate talent within the groups that have been underrepresented at the tech companies who desperately seek that talent.
Mainly, the startups say tech companies must be more creative in seeking out that talent. The programs seem to be delivering on their promise, as the Times notes that many alumni have landed tech internships and jobs, or even went on to form their own startups.
For example, Blue1647, located in Chicago’s highly Hispanic Pilsen neighborhood, has trained more than 2,400 youths and adults in its sequential classes or 12-week boot camps, the majority of whom identify as black or Hispanic. Some Blue 1647 alumni have interned at Google, Answers.com and other tech companies, the Times reports.
