PLATO Testing Partners With BMO, Amazon To Train Indigenous Students
FREDERICTON – An Indigenous-led and staffed IT services and training firm, PLATO Testing, has partnered with BMO Financial Group to offer the Amazon Web Services (AWS) re/Start program to Indigenous students across Canada.
The training will see students embark on a 12-week cloud computing training course, followed by an internship with BMO to help prepare students for potential entry-level jobs.
“The IT sector is in desperate need of more and better-trained employees, and Indigenous people are ready to join the growing technology workforce. It’s a great match,” says PLATO founder Keith McIntosh.
The AWS re/Start program helps unemployed and underemployed individuals develop skills for cloud careers through classroom-based training. The program also provides learners with resume and interview coaching to prepare them for employer meetings and interviews.
Each cohort of learners is also supported by professional mentors and trainers who help administer scenario-based learning, hands-on labs, and coursework. This gets students ready for entry-level roles like cloud operations, site reliability, infrastructure support and technical support functions.
“AWS re/Start is more than just a training program; it is a change-your-life program that helps individuals launch successful careers in the cloud. We are proud to work with PLATO and BMO to equip these individuals with the in-demand cloud skills that will help organizations accelerate their innovation with the AWS Cloud,” said Tejas Vashi, the global lead for AWS re/Start in a statement announcing the partnership on October 26.
PLATO Testing was founded in 2015 by McIntosh, who is also CEO of testing firm Professional Quality Assurance Ltd. Since then, PLATO Testing has been striving to build a network, which now includes over 1,000 Indigenous software testers across the country. The Fredericton-based company also employs more than 50 full-time Indigenous software testers and has opened offices on or near Indigenous communities across Canada.
For McIntosh, the new partnership helps PLATO’s goal to further educate and train indigenous communities. He says PLATO has already developed a strong brand after running 18 software tester training courses across the country and says the new collaboration with AWS and BMO will help the company reach a broader audience and provide more opportunities to Indigenous communities.
“Our train-and-employ model had allowed us to develop an Indigenous workforce of testers, and now we are carrying that model forward from software testing to cloud computing,” says McIntosh.
He said students who complete the training will go on to take part in a paid six-month internship with BMO and, if successful, be given the opportunity to start a new career in cloud technology.
“This progression from training to internship to employment is critical to providing opportunities in technology to Indigenous people,” said McIntosh. “We’re proud to have such great partners in our continued commitment to reconciliation.”
According to McIntosh, the evolution of the partnership between AWS and BMO was fairly organic. PLATO learned about the AWS re/Start program during ongoing discussions with partners at BMO, with whom the company had already done software testing work.
“BMO has had a long commitment to the economic self-sufficiency of Indigenous communities and is dedicated to hiring Indigenous employees and supporting their career growth,” says McIntosh. “Having corporate partners who share our values and commitment to not only training, but employment, made this the right opportunity for PLATO.”
McIntosh says any First Nations, Inuit, or Métis person with a high school diploma and an internet connection can join the program virtually. That allows PLATO Testing to continue bringing this type of learning opportunity to more Indigenous communities.
It has already been a busy year for PLATO Testing, with prior investments coming in from TC Energy and Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, totalling over $700,000. Despite the ongoing business challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, McIntosh believes PLATO Testing has still been able to build “some incredible partnerships” throughout 2021 and knows 2022 is going to be a huge year in addition.
“We’ve got expansion plans for more offices and more training program across the country, and will be growing our core business through acquisition, says McIntosh. “We’re also looking to bring on additional Indigenous investment in the near future that will have a significant impact on a number of Indigenous communities.
Tyler Mclean is a Huddle reporter based in Fredericton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].