Adande Lane
“We know that diversity drives innovation,” starts Adande Lane of NPower. NPower, a local nonprofit that provides free technology training to young adults from underserved communities to close the diversity tech gap, is one week out from starting its new batch of classes. When it does, they'll be 100 percent virtual due to COVID-19. Pivoting to online learning was a natural fit for NPower—and now, to meet students where they are, it's removing the extra barriers that COVID-19 has presented that could keep those in underserved communities from exploring a career in IT. This mission is important, Lane explains, especially when the pandemic has placed a premium on being able to work from home and many are assessing their career choices.
NPower trains toward entry-level positions and boasts alumni at Boeing and Mastercard, among other companies. Applicants don’t need any prior experience (“We had individuals who have come into the program not knowing the difference between a file and a folder on a desktop,” Lane says); classes last just six months; and those who complete the courses, typically, go from making $9.50–$10 an hour up to $22 an hour.
IT conjures images of coding and programming. But really, Lane says, it could also be troubleshooting, teaching, or working in sales. “It’s not just about fixing computers or building networks," she says. "Some of it is customer-service related. Are you able to talk to people? Are you able to sell products? Maybe you don't know how to fix something, but you know all about a particular product, and you can help someone determine how much memory is necessary to build out a network of five computers versus one that is 300.” She remembers one student who came to NPower because she wanted to own her own business and be able to operate the point of sale system.
NPower has departments that are focused on career placement and advancement, but with COVID-19 it’s stepping up to address some of the additional barriers that students might have. “An individual may have children,” Lane says. “Especially now with working from home, they're needing to figure out, ‘How can I manage my child, who's doing schoolwork [on a computer], and I need a computer to do training?’ We are able to provide some of those resources, laptops, so they can maintain the training.”
Lane notes that representation matters in the tech world because if diverse candidates see themselves in these roles, they’re encouraged to pursue them as career paths. For its part, NPower is aiming to increase the proportion of women—both students and training staff—to 40 percent of its makeup by 2022 to ensure equity in the tech space in St. Louis.
Classes at NPower begin September 8. Visit its website for more information.
