Comcast Awards Over $25M to Digital Skills Organizations, Creating a More Inclusive Workforce and Economy

PHILADELPHIA, May 19, 2023 /3BL Media/ - Comcast Corporation announced a total award of more than $25 million to hundreds of community organizations to help provide the resources and support needed for building a stronger, more equitable workforce.

Furthering a deep and longstanding commitment to advancing equity and opportunity, Comcast’s funding will help provide skills building, job training and other career development offerings for the full spectrum of learners, from high school students to adults. Today’s announcement is part of Project UP, Comcast’s $1 billion commitment to help advance digital equity and build a future of Unlimited Possibilities.

“When more people across our country are given the full set of tools and opportunity to secure good jobs, we change much more than just one person’s life. We create a butterfly effect that reaches across communities – and our entire economy,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP & Chief Diversity Officer for Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation.

By investing in workforce training, skills building and job placement today, our work is helping to build lasting, generational wealth and achieve large-scale economic growth for all.

DALILA WILSON-SCOTT 
EVP & Chief Diversity Officer for Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation

Currently, 92 percent of all jobs require digital skills but nearly one-third of U.S. workers lack basic digital skills, and overwhelmingly, communities of color and Americans earning lower incomes are most often those lacking the skillsets required to qualify for jobs and to grow careers. Through targeted workforce development, significant strides can be made toward closing the skills gap – and digital divide – while spurring critical job placement and increasing diversity and equity in the workforce.

“We can only successfully change the face of tech – and strengthen the future of our economy – if we successfully find ways to help every worker unlock his or her potential,” said Plinio Ayala, President & CEO of Per Scholas. “Comcast recognizes how critical this mission is, and by working together, we can create the opportunities that empower job seekers to become what they envision, to realize their every possibility, and succeed in the workforce of today - and tomorrow.”

Comcast’s grant to frontline, partner organizations will help increase college and career readiness, especially among underserved youth; connect workers to opportunities; provide upskilling for adult learners and those already in the workforce; and close the skills – particularly digital skills – gap. This funding will support programs and partnerships driving impact nationwide in 2023.

“To excel in the tech industry, it is not enough to simply have a degree,” noted Michel Ellison, CEO and Co-Founder of CodePath. “Graduates must navigate a complex, competitive industry, build a background of career-specific experience, and establish tech excellence. As leaders, it is incumbent on us to help guide our future tech talent through all of this and more. With partners like Comcast, we will successfully establish the connections and tools necessary for our future creators, problem solvers and innovators.”

Through intentional investment in organizations deeply rooted in local communities across the country, Comcast’s investment will drive change needed to achieve lasting, generational impact. Specifically, funding will go toward the following focus areas and more than 200 organizations, including:

Increasing College and Career-Readiness

• American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) – Comcast is supporting the Next Generation of Indigenous Coders program, which prepares students for computer science degrees and careers across all industries.
• Genesys Works – Funding will help enable the expansion of a program connecting underserved high school students to paid internships with major companies, reaching 1,900 students and more than 2,100 alumni.
• The Hidden Genius Project – With support from Comcast, Hidden Genius will engage 1,200 youth of color in programming and 200 high school students in an intensive immersion program, 98 percent of whom will graduate high school and 90 percent of whom will enroll in post-secondary education.

Building College to Career Opportunities

• CodePath – Comcast is helping provide the tools and connections college computer science students need to unlock their greatest career potential, enabling CodePath to scale its work to serve 10,000 students per year — 70% of whom identify as Black, Latino/a, Indigenous, first generation, and/or low-income — at approximately 70 institutions of higher education.
• Reboot Representation Tech Coalition – Together with other companies, Comcast has set out to double the number of Black, Latina and Native American women receiving computing degrees by 2025 and increase their representation in the tech workforce.

Providing Training and Upskilling to Close the Skills Gap

• Hispanic Federation – Through a dedicated partnership program, Comcast is supporting a network of 20 Digital Equity Centers at Latino-led and serving nonprofits across the country, which will provide 5,000+ participants with digital skills training and job placement assistance.
• National Urban League – Comcast’s support of the NUL’s Urban Tech Jobs program will provide unemployed and under-employed individuals with training for in-demand jobs in the tech sector, with a particular focus on middle-skills jobs in the IT sector.
• NPower – Comcast’s support will enable enrollment of 650 trainees in Regional Tech Fundamentals, a tech training and job placement program helping military veterans and underserved young adults move from unemployment to middle income careers.
• Per Scholas – Providing tuition-free training and hands-on professional experience to adult learners, Comcast’s funding will enable more than 10,000 adult learners to launch tech careers over the next three years.