To support diversity in technology, kaplan test prep and thoughtbot
announce $2,000 scholarships for women and underrepresented minority
participants enrolling in metis ruby on rails bootcamp
Boston--(business wire)--kaplan test prep and thoughtbot are offering $2,000 scholarships for women and underrepresented minorities* who are chosen to participate in metis, a new bootcamp for individuals interested in becoming professional ruby on rails web developers. the scholarship, specific to metis students from backgrounds underrepresented in the technology sector, seeks to encourage skills training for these individuals to secure employment opportunities within the fast-growing technology sector. while women and minorities have made tremendous strides across other industries such as law, medicine, and business, the tech sector offers another opportunity for these groups to continue breaking down barriers. a number of private and government statistics show the following: women make up less than one-third of all employees in the tech sector. tech companies employ an average of 12.33 percent female engineers. women contribute to just 1.2 percent of open source software. only four percent of people in software development, application and systems jobs are african american and five percent are hispanic or latino. women of color represent less than three percent of the people in technology fields. “as the technology sector continues to grow, we need to take steps to create more avenues from underrepresented demographic groups who will bring diverse ideas to continue driving the exponential economic industry growth. this scholarship is a step toward supporting a more diverse workforce,” said jason moss, co-founder of metis. metis is designed as a new economy skills training (nest) program to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market, preparing participants for hire. under the competitive application process, candidates will be selected among applicants for an interview which will entail problem-solving questions. no more than 30 qualified applicants will be accepted for each cohort. metis program participants will be trained in html5: erb, css: sass, javascript, ruby on rails and git, and will learn how to independently create ruby on rails applications. at the end of the program, graduates will participate in a hiring day, which will connect metis graduates with potential employers. to apply, visit www.thisismetis.com. applications are being accepted on a rolling basis, with the final deadline for the first cohort rapidly approaching. the first class will start on february 24, 2014 at thoughtbot’s boston office. *includes african americans, hispanic and latino americans, mexican-americans, native americans (american indians, alaska natives, and native hawaiians), pacific islanders, and mainland puerto ricans. about kaplan test prep kaplan test prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. established in 1938, kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. with a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services. about thoughtbot thoughtbot (thoughtbot.com) is a world-class consulting firm that makes web and mobile apps for early-stage startups and other organizations. established in 2003, their consulting team consists of 65 designers, web developers, and mobile developers in boston, san francisco, stockholm, denver, philadelphia, raleigh, and new york city. note to editors: kaplan is a subsidiary of the graham holdings company (nyse:ghc)
