PLATO Train and Employ
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Courtesy images
What’s better in 2024 than 20 weeks of no-cost technology training? At PLATO, they offer five months of in-class training plus a paid internship — and a full-time apprentice position for successful graduates. PLATO is a global software testing and technology services company known for its innovative train-and-employ model. The company’s full suite of software testing services includes functional testing, integration testing, performance testing, accessibility testing, test automation, content migration, and test advisory.
In addition to providing software testing for clients around the world, PLATO is breaking down barriers for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people with meaningful training and employment in Canada’s technology workforce. The company is the country’s largest Indigenous software testing and technology business and received a Certified Aboriginal Business (CAB) designation from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB). Since 2015, PLATO has trained more than 350 Indigenous software testers, many of whom still work for the company today in and around their home communities.
Trainees selected for the program are on a train-and-employ path where they begin as students and graduate as software testers:
PLATO training welcomes applicants of First Nations, Inuit, or Métis heritage who are interested in a technology career. A high school diploma, GED 12, or equivalent experience is also required. Visit PLATO’s training home page and scroll down to see where applications are currently being accepted. If you have questions, see the FAQs or contact training@platotech.com.
PLATO co-founder and president Denis Carignan and PLATO instructor Dani Gulliver share their insights about the program.
What is the overall aim of the train-and-employ program? Denis: Indigenous Canadians represent roughly 5 percent of Canada’s total population, but we represent less than 1 percent of Canada’s total technology workforce. The overall aim of our program is to close this gap and provide real opportunities for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Canadians to pursue their livelihoods in careers that are driven by information technology.
It sounds like the learning portion of the program is not your traditional classroom. Tell us more. Dani: We start at the very basics, for example, going through Microsoft Suite — how you use Excel or Microsoft Word, and communications like how to send a professional email. From there, we cover testing and supporting skills key to the job, such as how to write test cases and how to be a good consultant. The second half of training focuses mostly on projects where students work together to test websites in an environment similar to a future project they might work on as a testing professional. Of course, we make sure there are defects, so our training teams tend to have fun with the work.
What inspired PLATO to offer this opportunity? Denis: The idea for PLATO was conceived during a leadership conference that coincided with the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report in 2015. The premise was based on two questions posed to me by PLATO’s CEO. The first was: “What can be done to create more opportunities for Indigenous Canadians to build wealth?” And the second was: “What can be done to help more Indigenous Canadians pursue careers in information technology?” The idea quickly developed into a business concept and then into an operating business.
What qualities do you think make a successful software tester and job candidate? Dani: While a lot of things matter, a willingness to learn is the most important. I can teach you how to be a tester, but I can’t teach you how to want to be a tester or to be receptive to feedback. Most of testing is learning, and when people are curious about learning, that helps them succeed in this program and their careers. We teach people from all different backgrounds, and from all different walks of life. That’s what makes good software testing professionals.
How has this program contributed to your talent pipeline, with hundreds of successful trainees and apprentices moving into full-time jobs? Denis: PLATO started as an idea in June of 2015. At that time, PLATO did not have any Indigenous employees. Eight years later, the company has around 130 Indigenous employees — many of whom are in their fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth year of professional experience. All but a few of these employees came to work at PLATO as a result of our train-and-employ program. Over the past eight plus years, we have learned that our communities have a lot of bright and talented people. And every time someone succeeds with PLATO, they create a path for someone else from their family and their community to follow.
Science Diversity Leadership Program (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative)
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Photo courtesy of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
In 2022, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) partnered with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to launch the Science Diversity Leadership (SDL) program. The one-of-a-kind funding opportunity recognizes and supports the leadership of biomedical researchers with a record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their scientific fields. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg founded CZI in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges, from eradicating disease and improving education to addressing local community needs.
According to the National Science Foundation, only 8.9 percent of people in science and engineering academic doctoral positions identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latina/o/x, or American Indian or Alaska Native. And although Native Americans compose approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population, they are only 0.3 percent of all U.S. full-time faculty.
CZI’s values include a belief in representative science because it reflects respect and inclusiveness and creates opportunities for discoveries that may otherwise be missed. Its funding outreach includes targeted grantmaking as well as open competitions for grant applicants in specific issue areas, or requests for applications. The CZI website details each opportunity, eligibility, and the application process. Science Diversity Leadership grant recipients selected in 2022 received awards of $1.15 million over five years to support their work.
Dr. Matthew Anderson and Dr. Kathryn “Kat” Milligan-McClellan are Native American scientists and SDL grantees whom CZI has recognized for embedding inclusion in their research programs. Through the SDL program, they are helping to grow the STEM workforce while advancing biomedical research and inspiring the next generation of scientific leaders.
Dr. Milligan-McClellan, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut, is the first in her family to earn a PhD and the first from her hometown of Kotzebue, Alaska, to lead a research lab in microbiology. She is a member of the Napaaqtugmiut tribe of the Inupiat people. Dr. Anderson is of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians descent, and his research is tied to his relationships across Indigenous communities. He recently joined the Center for Genomic Science Innovation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his Anderson Lab will continue studying genetic diversity and variations in organisms.
Tell us about the research projects you’re pursuing with your grant from CZI. Dr. Anderson: My research award is for “Defining microbes underlying rheumatoid arthritis in American Indians.” This support will allow my team to examine microbial eukaryotes, cells that contain a distinct nucleus with DNA to determine if they contribute to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Lakota populations — which have five times greater incidence of the disease compared to the national average. Through this grant, we will work to build an unbiased catalog of microbial eukaryotes associated with humans and, more specifically, with Indigenous people in the Northern Plains to determine if they contribute to RA.
Dr. Milligan-McClellan: My study is “Identifying life events that lead to inflammation in the host in a multi-population, longitudinal study.” I’m engaging Alaska Natives and students historically excluded in science to investigate why the microbiota, which affects inflammation in the host, is different over time and across populations. Inflammatory diseases are caused by complicated interactions, including our environment, stress levels during early development, our genetic background, and more. By studying these in combination, my hope is that my work will lead to ways we can prevent these diseases.
“Training Indigenous students is a critical part of our lab’s purpose to help equip them to meet the needs of tribal communities.” — Dr. Matthew Anderson
Why do you involve Indigenous students in your research? Dr. Anderson: Training Indigenous students is a critical part of our lab’s purpose to help equip them to meet the needs of tribal communities. To work toward this goal at a larger scale, I’ve been part of consortia that train Indigenous people in genetics through the Summer Internship for Indigenous peoples in Genomics (SING), and in bioinformatics training through IndigiData. I have also participated in SACNAS and AISES.
Dr. Milligan-McClellan: Mentoring Indigenous and other historically underrepresented students is central to my work. I’m proud to be a board member and mentor for the Caleb Scholars program, which supports Alaska Natives in using their higher education to uphold traditional Inupiaq ways of life. I have also mentored Indigenous students and postdoctoral fellows through the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, AISES Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM, and the Network for Enriched Mentorship at the University of Connecticut.
What motivates you to persist in your research and pave the way for future Native leaders in science? Dr. Anderson: Lending the power and resources I hold as a faculty member to Indigenous communities is exactly why I exist in academia. Building the research capacity of tribal nations removes their reliance on government or academic researchers, allowing tribes to decide which research to carry out and why. This shifts the power balance to those affected by these decisions.
Dr. Milligan-McClellan: My commitment to Indigenous communities and underrepresented people is why I pursue this work and mentor Native researchers as an integral part of the process. My hope is that the next generation will persist and thrive in a system not built for them originally, but one that now welcomes them, encouraging them to weave together their Indigenous and academic knowledge to advance their fields.