Springboard Initiative, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, has launched a unique workforce development program designed to train and place 100,000 high school students in high tech jobs by 2025.
The intent of the Springboard Initiative is designed to provide youth in underserved communities with access to training and the opportunity to acquire skills that will allow them to move into higher paying jobs in the technology sector. The new program will also help supplement the recruitment pipeline of technology start-ups and established brands in the Bay Area.
Unique features of the Springboard Initiative include:
- A nine-month, full time free training program including technical, workforce, social and leadership skills
- On-campus training at City College of San Francisco by CCSF and YMCA instructors
- A curriculum that is defined and created in collaboration with the potential employer
- Classes and training to meet employer specified job requirements
- Potential employment upon successful completion of the nine-month course of study
- Regular interaction and assessments by the employer during training
- Corporate “companions” to buddy with the Springboard trainee throughout the process
- Ongoing counseling and case management during training and first year of employment
- A dedicated mentor for each student
- Participation of Visa and Ellie Mae as pilot employers
The Springboard Initiative is spearheaded by tech entrepreneur Sig Anderman, Founder and Executive Chairman of Ellie Mae, a financial technology firm in the San Francisco Bay Area that employs over 1,000 individuals, with the majority in high tech jobs.
“High tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country should adopt new ways to source talent for their organizations,” said Anderman. “The Springboard Initiative gives employers a unique opportunity to address their talent needs by introducing them to eager, bright candidates whose training can be tailored to specific job openings. We believe this will be a powerful way for companies to help individuals who would otherwise would be left out of the job market.”
Ellie Mae and Visa are the first corporate partners to join the Springboard Initiative to help produce a qualified talent pipeline for specific, high-demand roles in their businesses. The first pilot group, consisting of seventeen students ages 18-24, began training on August 15, 2016.
“We believe the Springboard Initiative combines all of the elements essential to developing successful, productive high tech employees, and we love the idea of helping build curriculum that meets our technical needs,” said Adam Krause, head of Ellie Mae technical support team. “The benefit to Ellie Mae is the simplicity of hiring the next generation of employees that will help us grow and innovate.”
Each participating employer defines the exact skills needed in a “perfect” entry level employee. Springboard then, in cooperation with City College of San Francisco, “reverse engineers” the training program, developing the curriculum to prepare students for specific “middle skill” tech jobs – those that require certifications and some college-level coursework.
“Inspiring young minds and training the next generation of technology leaders is exactly the kind of environment we strive to create at Visa,” said Michael Ross, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Visa Inc. “We are pleased to support the Springboard Initiative which directly aligns with Visa’s commitment to engage and retain the best talent, ideally in the communities where we do business, and to foster an environment where learning, diversity and inclusion is expected.”
“We’re proud to be partnering with innovative tech companies like Ellie Mae and Visa who have made the strategic decision to grow their own technical talent recruitment efforts,” continued Anderman, “There are thousands more companies across America facing a shortage of talent, and we’re committed to helping accelerate the development of the talent that our country needs.”
The Springboard Initiative combines industry certifications, academic coursework at community colleges, and on-site training and mentorship from current employees at participating employers. Students will take fieldtrips to tech companies including Visa, Ellie Mae, Google and Intuit, and receive employment skills training to succeed in today’s competitive workplace. While enrolled in the training program, students receive a stipend, as well as college credits for courses. All students who successfully complete the program will be offered employment as apprentices at Ellie Mae and Visa.
“We will revolutionize how talent is developed in the high tech industry and, simultaneously, bring hundreds of thousands of underserved youth quickly into the middle class, once and for all breaking the cycle of underemployment and frustration in our minority communities,” said Anderman.
For more information about the Springboard Initiative, visit http://www.springboardinitiative.com.
About Springboard Initiative
The Springboard Initiative unleashes the untapped talent of hundreds of thousands of smart, but under-resourced people in minority communities by getting them trained and ready for productive, high paying jobs in the high tech industry. With a unique, intensive nine-month training program designed by and meeting the specific needs of high tech employers, Springboard offers a new, strategic approach to talent development. For more information, visit www.springboardinitiative.com. Springboard Initiative is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 - IRS exemption entity, EIN# 81- 0736392.
About Ellie Mae
Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. Mortgage lenders of all sizes use Ellie Mae’s Encompass all-in-one mortgage management solution, Mavent Compliance Service and AllRegs research, reference and education resources to improve compliance, loan quality and efficiency across the entire mortgage lifecycle.
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/ and @VisaNews.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160906005165/en/
Contacts:
Erica Harvill, 925-227-5913
Erica.harvill@elliemae.com
