iDiverse Also Launches Directory of Non-Profits to Foster Collaborations Between Organizations Promoting Diverse Talent Pool & Interactive Advertising Companies
NEW YORK – The IAB Education Foundation and its iDiverse initiative announced they are joining forces with the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to offer a digital training course to prepare students for entry-level jobs in the digital media and marketing industry. This program comes on the heels of the launch of the inaugural iDiverse pilot course, which kicks off today at San Mateo County Community College District in California’s Silicon Valley.
“Through this course, we are providing a wide range of students from diverse backgrounds with a unique opportunity to build meaningful careers in interactive marketing.”
The Education Foundation and BMCC will work with non-profit partners, including Year Up and Per Scholas, to recruit applicants for the East Coast course at the BMCC division of Adult Continuing Education. Students chosen to participate in the program will have their tuition fees covered by iDiverse, whose corporate partners in the digital media and marketing industry will later interview them for potential jobs and internships.
“BMCC and the City of the University of New York (CUNY) system are honored to join with the IAB Education Foundation and its iDiverse initiative in equipping students with tools and skills needed to succeed in the dynamic digital advertising marketplace,” said Sunil B. Gupta, Dean of Adult Continuing Education and Workforce Development, Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY. “Through this course, we are providing a wide range of students from diverse backgrounds with a unique opportunity to build meaningful careers in interactive marketing.”
The Education Foundation and iDiverse will advise BMCC on developing a course syllabus. Students who pass the semester-long, non-credit course, expected to launch in early 2017, will qualify to take the IAB Entry-Level Digital Advertising Certification Exam, a critical industry credential.
In conjunction with the announcement about BMCC, the Education Foundation and iDiverse have released a first-of-its-kind tool – theiDiverse Non-Profit Directory, a centralized online index of over 500 national and local non-profits, representing a wide-range of diverse constituencies including African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, the LGBT community, veterans, and people with disabilities, among others. The iDiverse online directory offers digital media companies the opportunity to connect with non-profits such as The Mission Continues, Girls Who Code, and Upwardly Global, and tap into their mentoring, volunteering, and training programs. AOL helped to underwrite the directory’s development costs. To see the complete directory, please visit idiverse.org/directory.
“There is a growing demand from digital media and marketing companies to increase their commitment to diversity by working alongside non-profit organizations,” said Michael Theodore, Senior Vice President, Learning and Development, IAB, and General Manager, IAB Education Foundation. “This directory will be a fundamental tool in garnering the types of vital partnerships that will lead to a more inclusive labor pool.”
For more information about the IAB Education Foundation and its iDiverse initiative, please visit iab.com/idiverse.
About the IAB Education Foundation
The IAB Education Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created to increase racial, gender, economic, and cultural diversity, as well as close the skills gap in the digital media and advertising industries. The Foundation has launched iDiverse, a dedicated initiative to promote diversity in the workforce through training, mentoring, recruiting, interviewing, and placement services. The Foundation also develops curricula and certification programs in fast-growing sectors of industry employment, including digital advertising sales, advertising operations, and data analytics, and then provide the courses at little or no cost to qualified training partners, such as community colleges and workforce development programs. To learn more, visit iab.com/idiverse.
