In the spring of 2000, a young man walked into the Inner-City Computer Stars office in Chicago, determined to join this nonprofit\u2019s digital skills training program and build a future for himself in technology. But first he had to prove that he was ready for that journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was 17 or 18 years old when he applied,\u201d recalls Sandee Kastrul, the CEO and a founder of i.c.stars. Kastrul says she asked him to \u201cgo and build a website and come back.\u201d So he did. \u201cAnd this was back in the day, 20 years ago, so he had all these floppy disks with his code on it to show us what he had built. It was pretty incredible, and we said, \u2018All right, we\u2019ve got to have this kid joining the cohort.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, that young man, Kevin Gates, is a principal cloud solution architect at Microsoft. Gates remembers his first conversation with i.c.stars. He says he heard \u201cHTML\u201d mentioned for the first time. It sparked his curiosity, and learning to build a website was the beginning of a new chapter for Gates: \u201ci.c.stars helped me stumble on what was a passion of mine, and that passion has led to a career. There is no doubt I would not be where I am without the program. I never would have imagined having the life I have without i.c.stars,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
I.c.stars is a rigorous, tech-focused program that provides young adults from low-income communities with the tools to develop the technical and leadership skills needed for a career in technology, a field that continues to lack diversity and be in high demand.<\/p>\n
Programs like this are vital to accelerating the distribution of digital skills. On Wednesday, Microsoft launched a new community skills grant program, part of the company\u2019s commitment to racial equity and digital skills. It will include a $15 million investment over three years for Black- and African American-led nonprofits that are working to increase skill development and economic opportunities. The program includes grants, leadership development and technology enablement.<\/p>\n
[Read more about the grant <\/em><\/strong>HERE<\/em><\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Research shows that companies with diverse leadership are more likely to be profitable<\/a>. Despite this knowledge, the workplace does not reflect this.<\/p>\n There are several issues with hiring that further lock in inequality, says Byron Auguste, the CEO and co-founder of Opportunity@Work, an organization focused on economic inclusion. Auguste is a member of the advisory board for Microsoft\u2019s community skills program that supports nonprofits in Black and African American communities.<\/p>\n One of the issues is the idea that you need a certain background to do a job. Auguste, however, thinks qualifications are what should matter. \u201cIf you can do the job, you should be able to get the job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n A part of the solution is building access to larger talent pools like i.c.stars does. Auguste says that often employers hire someone great and think that they just got lucky.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, they\u2019re one of millions, not one in a million,\u201d he says. The only way to get to the millions of talented people who are shut out, he continues, is by enabling not just one individual at a time, but via training programs and talent sources like these.<\/p>\n