Good news for Latino computer and African-American scientists as Google has completed plans to launch a tech lab to mentor them in Oakland.
For this purpose, Google has partnered with MIT Media Lab known as Code Next lab which will be made open officially in October.
The focus of the lab, an official of Oakland Unified District School says, will be to educate young people from aforementioned to explore the possibilities that are inherent in nearby Silicon Valley offer and computer science
From Silicon Valley, Oakland which is located across San Francisco Bay is said to be one of the diverse cities found in the nation.
The company has even leased a space of 255, 000 square-foot complex in the Fruitvale Transit Village in Oakland which is also close to the station of Fruitvale BART that is the property of The Unity Council.
There will be an after-school program that the lab will offer meant for students in middle school with a curriculum on computer science to go with that.
This is move is first of its kind by the company to reach out to Latinos and African-Americans which constitute more than half of the population of Oakland. This is also a welcome development even after the people of Oakland have been accused of charging high prices before they can be hired.
Google has already disclosed that it will hire mostly Hispanic and blacks which resulted in 5% Hispanic and 4% black recruitment last year. Even with the move, the disparity is still very much obvious with African Americans representing only 2% of the company’s workforce and Hispanics taking up merely 3%.
For entrepreneurs in technology, they are interested in forming a new kind of community in tech that will create room for everyone to be part of. Start-ups over there concentrate on hiring the underrepresented than the majority that are known.
According to Qeyno Labs CEO, Kalimah Priforce, Google understands that it takes a village to be able to make it in Oakland which is why it is investing in community investment, urging other tech companies to follow suit.
image source: technewstoday.comAdvocates of diversity are not so mindful of Uber that is making efforts at bringing back the historic Sears building which is located in the heart of the town as well as the sudden interest in Oakland by tech companies.
A partner with Kapor Center, Freada Kapor Klein said the people of Oakland need to become more tech just as tech industries are picking interest in them. Klein also added that Oakland portends a lot for tech companies to gain from.
