Diverse by Design:
Designing People Solutions for the New Tech Marketplace

Partners on mission to improve access and equity in the tech industry

There’s been a shortage of IT talent for years, but the demand for skilled and diverse IT talent continues to grow as businesses hustle to keep pace with technology advancements. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified reliance on technology and the need for talent.

Along with the effects of the pandemic, our country continues to grapple with racial equity. The technology industry has been widely criticized for its diversity disparity. According to the Economic Modeling Specialists, International, 61% of the IT workforce is white and just 8% of the IT workforce is Black. Now more than ever, we must create pathways for building equity of access to IT job opportunities within organizations.

TEKsystems’ partnership with nonprofit tech training provider Per Scholas seeks to do just that. Together, we’re opening career opportunities for hundreds of skilled professionals, the majority of whom are people of color, with hundreds more to come by 2022.

In this panel discussion, TEKsystems President Jay Alvather and Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala discuss our private/nonprofit training partnership model, offer perspectives on building a diverse workforce in today’s world, and share lessons learned while establishing and driving forward a partnership aimed at improving access and equity in the tech industry.

In this discussion, we cover:

• The state of the IT talent market, including high demand for technical talent and lack of talent pipeline in emerging technologies, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the diversity of the IT workforce
• New ways to improve equity of opportunity in tech hiring through innovative solutions
• A proven private/nonprofit training partnership model focused on building a diverse, resilient tech workforce

This panel discussion was part of Diverse by Design, a national conversation series focused on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in the technology workforce. Diverse by Design is hosted by Per Scholas, a national social change nonprofit that prepares curious adults who are unemployed or in low-wage jobs with the technical and business skills to launch life-changing careers in technology, in partnership with the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), the only national organization dedicated exclusively to cultivating professional talent among African-American IT executives. To learn more about Diverse by Design, including future sessions, click here.