National Urban League Announces $3 Million Investment From Comcast
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE ANNOUNCES $3 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM COMCAST TO TRAIN WORKERS FOR TECH FUTURES
Opportunities In Tech are Surging But Employers Having Trouble Finding Trained Workers
NEW YORK (April 8, 2021) – Hundreds of long-term unemployed and underemployed Americans will have the chance to train for family-sustaining jobs under a major expansion of National Urban League’s Urban Tech Jobs Program, funded by longtime partner Comcast.
“Technology is the axis on which the 21st Century economy turns,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said, “But the digital revolution has not presented African Americans with their fair share of employment opportunities. Comcast is among the forward-thinking tech companies that have recognized the need to expand these opportunities and bring underserved communities into the digital age.”
Tech-related job openings are surging. Nationally, there were more than 307,000 openings for tech-related positions in March, up from 277,000 in February, according to the latest monthly tech jobs report from the Computing Technology Industry Association. In fact, the top 10 in-demand roles listed by a World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report are all tech-related — but they’re also the jobs employers are finding most difficult to fill. Even as the unemployment rate hovers around 6%, four in 10 American employers report that they struggle to fill tech vacancies, according to a survey.
When tech companies do hire, few of the jobs are going to workers of color. The National Urban League’s 2018 State of Black America® found that of the 40,000 employees of four major Silicon Valley technology firms, only 1,000 were Black. To address the racial opportunity gaps in the digital economy and broadband availability, the National Urban League has developed the Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion.
“As the National Urban League’s Latimer Plan makes clear, it’s imperative that we create new opportunities for underserved communities to participate in the growth of the digital economy,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast. “We are excited to partner with National Urban League on the expansion of their Urban Tech Jobs Program to help ensure that more adults are able to gain tech skills that will help them progress into higher-wage occupations.”
The Urban Tech Jobs Program is an accelerated training program that recruits long term unemployed and underemployed adults and provides them with workshops to build solid job readiness and personal resiliency/adaptability skills, while offering nationally recognized certification coursework and paid work experience.
More than 800 workers and jobseekers have taken advantage of the program since 2016, leading to jobs in technology such as network administrator, office manager, installation technician, helpdesk specialist, systems analyst, programmers and developer.
Comcast has committed $3 million, enabling a total of 240 individuals to be trained through an expansion of the program at six Urban League affiliates:
- Chicago Urban League (Karen Freeman-Wilson, President & CEO)
- Houston Area Urban League (Judson Robinson III, President & CEO)
- Urban League of Broward County (Germaine Smith-Baugh, President & CEO)
- Urban League of Greater Atlanta (Nancy Flake Johnson, President & CEO)
- Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh (Esther L. Bush, President & CEO)
- Urban League of Philadelphia (Andrea L. Custis, President & CEO)
About the National Urban League
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its 90 local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy, providing direct services that impact and improve lives of more than 2 million people annually nationwide. Visit www.nul.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @NatUrbanLeague.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with over 56 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, Peacock, NBC News, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.