General Assembly and AT&T Expand Opportunities for Young People and Veterans as Part of a Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) “Commitment to Action”
New Scholarships Increase Pipeline of Underrepresented Individuals in the Tech Industry
DENVER, June 9, 2014 /3BL Media/ – General Assembly (GA), the global educational institution building a community of entrepreneurs and professionals through instruction and opportunity in technology, business and design, today announced a $250,000 contribution from AT&T to expand GA’s “Opportunity Fund” scholarship program. The collaboration was formalized by Jake Schwartz, co-founder and CEO, General Assembly, and Nicole Anderson, Executive Director of Philanthropy, AT&T Services, Inc. as a Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) Commitment to Action.
In the United States, there are nearly 6.7 million young people ages 16 to 24 who are neither employed nor pursuing education; additionally, 5.3% of all veterans are currently unemployed. GA’s collaboration with AT&T and AT&T Aspire, AT&T’s signature education initiative, addresses this issue by providing scholarships for qualified opportunity youth and veterans. This includes 20 scholarships to GA’s full-time, 12 week Web Development Immersive (WDI) course and User Experience Design (UXDI) course in San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. as well as 50 scholarships for an online web design course. This is the first time in the program’s history that Opportunity Fund recipients will have the option of taking online courses.
“General Assembly equips people with the in-demand, 21st century skills that tech companies are looking for in their employees, and the Opportunity Fund ensures that more students have access to these programs and can find meaningful, rewarding work,” said Jake Schwartz, co-founder and CEO, General Assembly. “With AT&T’s generous contribution, we are bringing these opportunities to even more students while building a diverse talent pipeline for the jobs of the future.”
“As a company that hires about 25,000 employees every year, we’re focused on new programs and opportunities that make tech training accessible, affordable and efficient,” said Anderson. “These scholarships, through General Assembly’s Opportunity Fund, do just that. They open doors for students and vets to prepare them for 21st century jobs.”
AT&T, through its Aspire initiative, joins existing Opportunity Fund supporters including Google, Microsoft, Capital One and PayPal. Following program graduation, participants will have full access to all of General Assembly’s resources, including its hiring partner network and personalized support in finding full-time employment. Scholarship recipients will volunteer their time to fulfill a service requirement with a mission aligned nonprofit organization. Scholarships for on-campus programs through AT&T Aspire for the Opportunity Fund are open to qualified opportunity youth and veterans at the San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. campuses. Scholarships for the online programs are open to all applicants regardless of location. Scholarships are given on a rolling basis and will cover the full cost of recipients’ fees.
About General Assembly
General Assembly is a global educational institution that is building a community of individuals empowered to pursue work they love through instruction and opportunity in technology, design and business. General Assembly offers full-time immersive programs, classes, workshops and online educational programming on the most relevant skills of the 21st century economy, including web development, user experience design, product management, digital marketing and data science. Headquartered in New York, General Assembly was established in early 2011 and has 14 campuses worldwide, in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Seattle, Sydney and Washington, D.C.
About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T
AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs. In 2013, more than $130 million was contributed or directed through corporate-, employee-, social investment- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs. AT&T Aspire is AT&T’s signature education initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring.
About Clinton Global Initiative America
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Established in June 2011 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) addresses economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting, CGI America participants have made more than 400 commitments, which have improved the lives of nearly 1.4 million people.
CGI also convenes an Annual Meeting, which brings together global leaders to take action and create positive social change, CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world, and, this year, CGI will also convene CGI Middle East & Africa, which will bring together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
