Industry News

Verizon's New Program Hopes to Solve the Diversity Problem in Tech

Verizon’s Thrive Apprenticeship Program is hoping to expand its diversity with its new Verizon Thrive apprenticeship.

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Elizabeth Earin

Elizabeth Earin

As Head of Marketing at ApprentiScope, Elizabeth Earin helps bridge the gap between workforce innovation and communication, empowering organizations to better share the value and impact of apprenticeship programs. With more than 20 years in marketing strategy and a personal connection to the skilled trades through her husband’s career as an electrician, she’s passionate about expanding access to career pathways beyond the traditional four-year degree.

Big tech companies have historically struggled with expanding diversity within their companies and the industry continues to fall short today yet programs like Verizon’s Thrive Apprenticeship Program are hoping to change that. Verizon’s program worked with a for-profit tech school named Treehouse that helped Verizon run courses that can help to single out people with an aptitude for tech. The program’s first class was in 2019 where they hosted 40 participants.

“Of the 40 people who began the 2019 program, 29 completed it and took jobs with Verizon. Most of them were women. Taufiq, who worked on a network-management project, was subsequently hired by the team overseeing networks at Verizon and has since been promoted there. Roberson is creating software to support digital services used by customers, as well as helping to build new development capabilities. Their success and that of other graduates of the program explains why Verizon’s HR team is now using it as the model for its company-wide apprenticeship scheme that’s part of a broader commitment by the business to arm half a million people by 2030 with the skills needed to succeed in what it calls “jobs of the future.”

This past summer Verizon decided not to field their apprenticeship program due to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of in-person instruction though they plan on continuing their work by launching a new program focused on remote work for marginalized groups.

Read full article here: https://app.hubspot.com/blog/5768465/edit-beta/53549792167/content

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