New Technology Mentorship Program seeks high school students from across Canada

BY PAUL JUNOR

The release of press information regarding a new technology program for high school students from across Canada is good news for those interested in the tech sector. The press release revealed some interesting data. It states, ”Technology is the fastest growing industry in the world, creating the most jobs; but yet, the Black community only represents 2.6% of the Canadian tech system.”

The program is intended to empower Black high school students to learn technological skills to help them prepare for careers in data science, cloud computing, video game design, and many more technological fields. There are partnerships between: Athlete Tech Group, BlackMINT and RBC Future Launch and Rising Star to offer twenty-five mentoring positions.

Athlete Tech Group (ATG) is a Black-owned and minority-led business. ATG utilizes education, media, and events to build well-rounded athlete entrepreneurs. A byproduct of this success is creating wealth for reinvestment back into local communities, skills programs, and even new career opportunities for athletes themselves.

BlackMINT is a Canadian non-profit organization focused on getting more Black youth in the technology sector. Their mission is to mentor Black youth, provide them with practical skills, career advice, and the help that they need to become confident, career-focused and aspire to be leaders in technology. They want Black professionals to make up more than 5% of the tech workforce in Canada by 2030.

RBC Future Launch is RBC’s commitment to empowering Canadian youth for the jobs of tomorrow. RBC is dedicating $500 million to help young people access meaningful work experience, skills development, networking and access to mental well-being supports and services.

In the press release, Randy Osei, Founder of and CEO, Athlete Tech Group states, “We need to get more Black youth engaged and excited about Canada’s bustling technology sector. Black Canadians continue to be grossly underrepresented in the tech industry. Rising Star will help open doors and create a sustainable bridge between Black Canadians and ‘Silicon Valley of the North’ as we look to break barriers to employment and drive social participation.”

In addition, Bernie Uche, Co-Founder BlackMINT states in the press release, “For far too long, Black kids have been pushed away from pursuing careers in the tech sector. We believe technology can improve Black futures and the Rising Star Program will give Black kids access to opportunities that may have previously seemed beyond their reach. We’re grateful for the support of Athlete Technology Group and RBC Future Launch as we embark on this exciting endeavour.”

This mentoring program will be nine months long and will provide twenty-five Black students ages 15-18 with modules on programming, hardware, and robotics, technical communication, data science, UI/UX, video game design, cloud computing, ethics and compliance, tech entrepreneurship, digital media, software development, computer networking, and security.

Black students who complete this program will be awarded $20,000 in scholarships that can go towards their post-secondary expenses. Students have up to July 5^th, 2021 to apply at www.athletetechgroup.com/rising-star.