Jul 15, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

DC Non-profit, On-Ramps, and Tech Employers Address Racial Inequities Through 200 Internships for African American Youth

Racism, police violence, and socioeconomic barriers remain the norms African American families are oppressed with every day. For nearly 9 years, On-Ramps to Careers continues to stand against institutional racism threatening the livelihoods of African Americans. On-Ramps creates meaningful technology and engineering career pathways for DC’s most vulnerable youth. This program has provided 700 internships and training opportunities for minority students through the Department of Employment Services (DOES) Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), DC Public Schools and twenty regional technology employers. Over 95% are African American students and their engagement is helping change the human capital landscape and technology workforce culture.

Approximately 200 young people began paid technology skills-based virtual internships through On-Ramps. Students come from eighteen DC public and public charter High Schools served by the Office of the State Superintendent of Schools. Corporate partners will make investments of $400,000 to the young tech workforce and DC economy.

Acquired Data Solutions (ADS) in Rockville, MD, is hosting 40 of On-Ramps students. ADS has created a unique six-week program called “T.E.A.M.S.”(Technology, Economics, Arts, Marketing, Socializing), inspired by S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) addressing important skill based learning to complement their academics.

Long-term Fortune 500 partners and twenty local employers are following suit with their own virtual real world projects at US Department of Homeland Security, DC Office of the Chief Technology Officer, DC Net, UNCF, Virginia Tech, Block by Block News, Charles Bergen Studios, ETTE, Georgetown University Information Systems, Inadev, Indie Co, DHS Cyber Information Security Agency, FEMA, SWPA and Office of the Chief Information Officer, Edge of Yesterday, Justice & Sustainability Partners, Limbic Systems, Mondrian Consulting and Validatek.

On-Ramps receives funding from corporate donors like AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft, Samsung, Starbucks, and ADS; foundations like Clark Foundation and CityWorks; and government partners like DC’s Department of Employment Services.

On-Ramps to Careers is preparing the next generation of diverse young workers to become competitive and successful in today’s STEM workforce.