Twenty-one year old Benita moved to Silicon Valley from her native Congo where she had, among other things, been involved in youth political activism. When she came to this country, she knew she wanted to continue her education and enrolled at a community college. Like many community college students, financial demands forced Benita to take a one year hiatus from school. She knew she needed money and she needed it fast. That search for earned income led her to JobTrain, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the Valley’s most in need reclaim their lives from poverty and unemployment by preparing them for successful, sustainable careers in high-demand and emerging fields.
Benita first enrolled in JobTrain’s culinary arts training program. She figured it was a quick program and she could improve her English by working in a kitchen setting. That training helped Benita land a part-time job with a catering company, where she continues to work today. The work enabled her to re-enroll in school and continue on her path to a political science degree. But Benita also knew that while the catering work meets her immediate needs, it is not her passion. Through JobTrain, Benita came across a flier promoting Samaschool. Her initial reaction to a program training in online work was that she could finally start earning money online by doing work that she was excited about.
By the end of the 10-week program, Benita found and completed a contract on Upwork, the largest online marketplace for freelancers, which required her to translate a story into French. At her Samaschool graduation, Benita asserted, “Being your own boss is the best thing you can do in this life. I love this program. I wish everybody could know about it.”
Samaschool exists to help equip students, like Benita, to secure and sustain work in the digital economy. Every day, another report or survey confirms that Americans are becoming increasingly active in finding, securing, and completing work on internet and mobile platforms. However, low-income and vulnerable Americans often lack the knowledge and skills to access this growing pool of jobs, which could otherwise represent a critical support in their journeys out of poverty.
Samaschool’s program is designed to close this divide. Our core training, developed over the past 2 years, equips students to succeed in the digital economy by improving their digital literacy, developing general professional skills, building in-demand occupational skills, and instilling them with an attitude of grit, perseverance and a growth mindset.
Samaschool is especially thrilled to have worked with JobTrain to develop our first train-the-trainer offering in order to serve an often-overlooked, vulnerable community. This collaboration capitalizes on JobTrain’s deep history workforce development, and Samaschool’s unique expertise in providing digital work training
In spite of its reputation for fostering innovation and wealth, Silicon Valley remains a deeply unequal region. In an area where the average household income has surpassed $90,000, many populations have not shared in this growth. In East Palo Alto, a historically marginalized community that surrounds JobTrain, the average household earns $55,000 a year. 18% of East Palo Alto residents live in poverty. And one out of 10 are unemployed, twice the regional average.
Benita was one of 16 students to graduate from Samaschool’s first class at JobTrain. In the months ahead, thanks to support from a Microsoft YouthSpark grant, we are will be able to assist more JobTrain students in securing and sustaining work in the digital economy. Our next project will be to develop and deliver an intensive primer in online contract work for students enrolled in a web development bootcamp. Our belief is that access to online work marketplaces and the digital economy will help our students markedly improve their careers and lives.
Benita is the first to say that her success in online work changed her perspective: “I enjoyed all aspects of the program but most of all, I enjoyed seeing myself going from ‘How/what do people do to earn money online?’ to ‘I know how to do this and I am going to make it.” We are excited to help more students develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the digital economy.
###
To learn more about Microsoft’s commitment to youth and education, visit our YouthSpark Hub or follow us on twitter at @msftcitizenship.
