$300K to help bolster tech pipeline with Black adults

A collaboration of three Indianapolis-based organizations has received a $300,000 grant to help establish apprenticeships for Black adults who want to work in Indiana’s technology industry. The grant came from the Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative to fund a two-year pilot program to help fill the state’s talent pipeline.

The partners include TechPoint, the nonprofit growth accelerator for Indiana’s technology sector, community development organization InnoPower, and the Sagamore Institute, an Indianapolis-based think tank.

The partners are urging companies to offer tech-related, on-the-job learning to low-income, central Indiana Black men and women. The new funding will help pay for a portion of the apprenticeships.

InnoPower Founder and CEO Emil Ekiyor called the program “groundbreaking” for Indiana’s Black community. His organization works to accelerate upward mobility opportunities for Black Hoosiers.

“Within our community are countless people with the ability to succeed in tech careers, but many of them don’t have the resources or relationships to access these,” said Ekiyor. “Companies that participate in this program are opening the door to opportunities that can create generational change while helping to fill some of their most-needed roles right away and for years to come.

Under the program, companies hire apprentices and provide training and educational opportunities to help them enter and grow tech careers. Typically, the program would cost $12,000 per person for employers, but the IAAQLI funding will subsidize half of that cost.

“We are thrilled to have received this support, but now we need companies to step up and take advantage of a game-changing opportunity for everyone involved,” said TechPoint Senior Vice President, Talent, Strategy, and Partnerships Dennis Trinkle. “We are creating a program that pairs companies and apprentices and expect to have so much demand from both audiences that we’ll need more funders to step forward.”  

Trinkle says employers may also be eligible for an additional $5,000 per person subsidy through the Indiana Employer Training Grants program.

Companies interested in offering apprenticeships through this program may click here to learn more.