A non-profit is helping young mothers enter the IT workforce in under a year with the help of tai chi, high tea, and a slew of other non-rhyming resources.
I.c.stars, a non-profit technology training and placement program, is piloting a new program that will help young mothers jumpstart their careers in the IT field. The program, which kicked off in August with 12 students in its inaugural cohort, offers participants a combination of technology, business training, and leadership training, as well as financial and parent coaching.
The program was launched in partnership with New Moms, a Chicago-based nonprofit that supports young mothers. Sandee Kastrul, co-founder of I.c.stars, told IT Brew that the collaboration has been in the pipeline for a long time.
“We’ve always wanted to recruit from New Moms, but [our] program wasn’t really conducive to moms who had just had babies and things like that,” Kastrul said. “We spent about two years designing a program just for New Moms and this is our inaugural cycle.”
The deets. Kastrul told us that the program, which is roughly four months long, provides enrolled mothers with foundational IT training and career assistance. By the end of the course, interns walk away with two Information Technology Infrastructure Library certifications.
Interns start their day with tai chi to prepare them for their coursework, and end it with high tea and discussions with a range of C-suite-level guest speakers. Lauren Zachok, a project manager for I.c.stars’ Innovation Lab, said that the organization strives to invite working moms in the IT field during this time to demonstrate how they are able to juggle their careers and caretaking obligations.
Young mothers enrolled in the course receive several resources, including a stipend, laptop, and monthly transportation support. The partnership with New Moms also equips students with wraparound services, such as childcare, housing support, and other additional tools that may be needed during the program.
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“There’s a case manager who comes from new moms and checks in on the women and kind of make sure that they’re getting what they need,” Kastrul said.
Ehi Aimiuwu, technology lead of the program, added that the training program caters to each intern’s learning needs to ensure that they are successful.
“For some students, I do the presentations and I give them keywords that they need to know,” Aimiuwu said. “For other students, they needed more hands-on things.”
Gender gap crisis. The program arrives at a time when women continue to remain underrepresented in the technology industry. IT Brew previously reported that women represent around half (49%) of the US workforce, yet only account for 29% of the tech occupations.
Kastrul told IT Brew that it was important for I.c.stars to roll out a program for young mothers to create a pathway for individuals who want to become knowledge workers and have access to privileges such as remote work.
She added that the non-profit will continue to improve the program after the conclusion of its pilot cohort and that she sees the program as very “scalable.”
“We’re learning so much about the learners, but we’re also learning about the program itself and how the balance between leadership and technology is going to look,” Kastrul said. “We’ll have a lot to dig into for sure.”
Correction 11/05/2024: An early version of this piece described Sandee Kastrul as “president and co-founder of I.c.stars.” Karin M. Norington-Reaves was appointed CEO of I.c.stars as of July 9, 2024.