A Washington, D.C.-based group that has been working on the issues of racism and socioeconomic barriers that African American face announced on July 15 more internships to help address these issues.
The group, On-Ramps to Careers, said 200 young people began paid technology skills-based virtual internships. 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 the DC economy.
For the past nine years, the group has created 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, Summer Youth Employment Program, DC public schools and twenty regional technology employers.
Acquired Data Solutions (ADS) in Rockville, Md., is hosting 40 of On-Ramps students. The company has created a 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 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.
