Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and the St. Louis Promise Zone — a federal program that advances economic activity and career mobility in high-poverty areas — have launched a new program to help Promise Zone residents develop the skills they need to pursue the rapidly growing number of information technology (IT) jobs in the St. Louis area.
The new program — called “My Path, My Future” — will help individuals who work in at-risk jobs, or are unemployed and have few resources to build new skills to transition to new careers. According to recent research by the Brookings Institute, 45 percent of the tasks that people in St. Louis perform in their jobs have the potential of being automated, putting some jobs at risk.
Accenture will also bring its national apprenticeship program to St. Louis, offering individuals IT training and a pathway to employment with the company.
“Professional apprenticeships can play an important role in creating opportunities for individuals who might not otherwise have access to digital economy jobs, while helping to close the skills gap for employers,” said Julie Sweet, Accenture’s CEO – North America. “People are this city’s greatest source of competitive advantage, and together with the St. Louis Promise Zone and our skilling partners, we are helping make St. Louis, its people and its economy stronger.”
Program partners — which include CyberUp, Family and Workforce Centers of America, LaunchCode, NPower, St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE), St. Louis County Human Services, and the State of Missouri — will provide participants with opportunities to develop technical skills, complemented by work-based learning opportunities or professional apprenticeships with local-area businesses. Lyft has also signed on to provide transportation for individuals participating in the program.
“This public-private partnership is designed to put families on a path toward achieving economic success,” said Erica Henderson, executive director and vice president of community investment and real estate at the St. Louis Promise Zone. “The intentionality around equitable workforce opportunities and expanding access to education, training and employment in the Promise Zone footprint is critical to transforming our region and having a substantive, generational and economic impact.”
The My Path, My Future program began recruiting its first cohort in March, with the intent of placing individuals into training programs during the summer and with prospective employers by the end of the year.
“The availability of technology roles in St. Louis will continue to grow, and it’s important for employers to make these jobs more accessible to wider pools of talent,” said Michael Gallagher, managing director of Accenture’s St. Louis office. “We look forward to welcoming our first cohort of apprentices to Accenture and seeing the impact they make on our business.”
St. Louis joins Accenture’s growing national apprentice program, which is currently offered in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The national program will have 450 apprentices trained by the end of 2019.