NEW YORK — March 4, 2020 — Today, global workforce transformation company General Assembly (GA) announced the launch of CODE for Good – an enterprise training coalition dedicated to increasing diversity in tech by reskilling women and underrepresented groups for hard-to-fill roles. Launching for the first time during Women’s History Month, the initiative will bring together multiple companies in a live online cohort, making it easier for GA’s enterprise partners to implement their D&I strategies by allowing them to make smaller employee commitments at a time (averaging 5 students per company). The goal is to ensure a smoother transition period when taking people out of their full-time positions for training and again in redeployment into their new roles after graduation.
While demand for technology workers remains on the rise, women are not the only group that continue to lag behind in filling these technology roles. People of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and older workers also remain chronically underrepresented in today’s burgeoning sector – particularly in senior leadership roles. According to a report from the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), more than half of all professional occupations in the U.S. are held by women, but only 26% of computing occupations are held by women, with even fewer belonging to women of color (3% by African-American women, 6% by Asian women, and 2% by Hispanic/Latina women). Meanwhile, just 7.4 percent of tech industry employees are African-American, and 8 percent are Latinx overall.
With a track record of teaming up with companies like Adobe, Disney, and Interapt to prepare underrepresented talent for jobs in today’s digital economy, GA’s CODE for Good initiative will address these disconnects.
“By 2026, there will be roughly 3.5 million computing-related jobs in the U.S. and only 19% of computer science graduates to fill them, which means that savvy enterprise leaders are going to have to rethink how they approach finding and training 21st-century talent to stay up to speed,” said Ali Levitan, GA’s Head of Global Strategic Business Development & Innovation. “By taking a build vs. buy approach to talent, companies can start to plan ahead for workforce transformation, and ideally create opportunities for diverse engineers that drive innovation and business impact. I am so excited to see CODE for Good come to life with the incredible partnerships and confidence of Guardian, Humana, and Union Pacific Railroad, and I look forward to what’s to come as we continue to build these programs out in 2020.”
GA’s first CODE for Good cohort will bring together underrepresented groups from Guardian, Humana, and Union Pacific Railroad for a live online, full-time Software Engineering Immersive program that’s designed to transform non-tech workers into job-ready, full-stack engineers. After three months of training, students will graduate the program with critical programming and technical problem-solving skills as well as hands-on experience with languages, frameworks, and libraries based on employer demand.
“Humana recognizes that digital skills will be necessary for our current and future employees to provide the best healthcare to our members. Our involvement in GA’s CODE for Good program is one of many steps that we’re taking to give our associates, and the communities we’re hiring in, a head start on these technological capabilities,” stated Ty Richardson, Vice President of Human Resources at Humana. “An important element of Humana’s culture is supporting our employees to fully use the skills they have today, while investing in their growth by preparing them with the skills of tomorrow. By encouraging women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups to enhance their employability in these needed and relevant areas, we are not only elevating our own talent pipeline but we are building a community workforce ready for the future.”
As part of the program, GA will also work extensively with its enterprise partners to drive employee awareness and interest in the courses before taking significant steps to properly vet applicants through pre-work and web-readiness assessments. After identifying the best candidates for online learning and facilitating the intensive training program, GA will then help the companies redeploy graduates into a tech rotation program before they take on the software engineer title.
“We are so excited to partner with GA to bring CODE for Good to Union Pacific Railroad,” said Beth Whited, Executive Vice President and Chief HR Officer at Union Pacific Railroad. “It is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate investment in our employees, re-skilling them for high-demand jobs and new career possibilities. In turn, the program will help infuse diverse thought, career experiences and railroad knowledge into our technical talent pipeline. This program will supplement our college recruit sourcing.”
CODE for Good is the latest initiative by General Assembly designed to democratize opportunities for people from all walks of life to pursue work in technology, data, and design. The company recently launched 10 new campuses across the U.S., expanding into Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Orlando, Paris, Phoenix, Raleigh, and San Diego. GA has also rebooted its suite of online and remote courses while expanding its financing options to create access for adults with barriers to credit — notably with the launch of Income Share Agreements (ISAs) and the expansion of its G.I. Bill® Eligibility.
About General Assembly:
General Assembly is a pioneer in education and career transformation, specializing in today’s most in-demand skills. The leading source for training, staffing and career transitions, we foster a flourishing community of professionals pursuing careers they love.
Focusing on the most relevant and in-demand skills across data, design, business, and technology, GA confronts the global skills gap through award-winning, best-in-class instruction and innovative opportunities across diverse communities. GA works with students online and in-person across the globe and partners with top employers to help companies source, assess and transform talent. To learn more, visit https://generalassemb.ly.
