With the shift to virtual due to the pandemic, technology has become a necessary component of everyday life. Unfortunately, most teens are not taught the ends and outs of the various programs they are asked to use.
As technology continues to move at a lightning pace, engraining itself even further into our way of doing things, the digital-divide becomes even greater. To understand why bridging this gap is so critical, we can look to the national pandemic as a magnifying light to the problem: more and more jobs are reliant on technology to run efficiently and to interact with the public. If youth are coming out of high school only as technology consumers, this industry will continue to grow while shutting out a large portion of the new workforce.
Representation is critical in the tech industry. The United States is becoming more diverse, but currently, those in the tech world are not following suit. While these jobs are continuing to scale in income, the individuals representing the populations working there are mainly white, educated males. Without diversity, innovation becomes stagnant and can only serve the mindsets of those who build the products. With a diverse team in play, other perspectives and needs will be brought up, helping bridge the access gaps that consistently remain undiscussed and unaddressed.
The Futures Fund Tech Academy program is a bridge for students in high school unable to afford access to tech. Traditional coding boot camps are fast-paced and often out of the price point of many families. The Futures Fund creates an ecosystem where grant dollars are able to cover most, if not all, of the tuition of the three-level program. Trainees attending will receive hard skills of learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but also soft skills of public speaking, project management, teamwork, and collaboration.
When youth graduate from Tech Academy, the pipeline continues with the Mentorship program, a component of training where self-development and leadership styles are taught so that peers can mentor new Trainees entering the program. Mentors are able to help support two mentees in their journey through the program while working on their own styles of management and motivation.
To join Tech Academy, you can apply here: futuresfund.paperform.co