Step IT Up NWA Prepares Minority Women for Tech Jobs
by February 29, 2016 12:00 am 97 views
Step IT Up America is bringing to Northwest Arkansas its technology job training program for minority women, a demographic that has been historically underrepresented in the industry.
Created by California-based tech leader, UST Global, Step IT Up aims to train 5,000 minority women across America and secure tech jobs for them by 2020, according to a press release from Step IT Up, announcing a launch event for the program.
The launch event was held the morning of Feb. 24 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers.
Women currently enrolled in the program spoke at the launch, as did UST Global CEO Sajan Pillai.
Speakers at the launch included Rogers Mayor Greg Hines, Sharon Wibben, senior vice president of global human resources at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Rollin Ford, chief administrative officer at Walmart.
The program guarantees employment for the women within 90 days and has seen 300 graduates so far, since it launched in major cities throughout the country, including Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago.