The Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) has partnered with IAB Education Foundation and its iDiverse initiative to offer a free digital training course to prepare students for entry-level jobs in the digital media and marketing industry.
IDiverse will cover the students’ tuition fees, and connect them to potential employers in the industry. Students who successfully complete the semester-long, non-credit course, expected to launch in early 2017, will also qualify to take the IAB Entry-Level Digital Advertising Certification Exam, a critical industry credential.
BMCC and the Education Foundation will work with non-profit partners, including Year Up and Per Scholas, to recruit applicants for the BMCC/IAB program.
“BMCC and the City University of New York (CUNY) system are honored to join with the IAB Education Foundation and its iDiverse initiative in equipping students with tools and skills needed to succeed in the dynamic digital advertising marketplace,” said Sunil B. Gupta, Dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development at BMCC. “Through this course, we are providing a wide range of students from diverse backgrounds with a unique opportunity to build meaningful careers in interactive marketing.”
In conjunction with the announcement about BMCC, the Education Foundation and iDiverse have released a first-of-its-kind tool – the iDiverse Non-Profit Directory, a centralized online index of over 500 national and local non-profits, representing a wide-range of diverse constituencies including African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, the LGBT community, veterans, and people with disabilities, among others. The iDiverse online directory offers digital media companies the opportunity to connect with non-profits such as The Mission Continues, Girls Who Code, and Upwardly Global, and tap into their mentoring, volunteering, and training programs. AOL helped to underwrite the directory’s development costs. To see the complete directory, please visit idiverse.org/directory.
“There is a growing demand from digital media and marketing companies to increase their commitment to diversity by working alongside non-profit organizations,” said Michael Theodore, Senior Vice President, Learning and Development, IAB, and General Manager, IAB Education Foundation. “This directory will be a fundamental tool in garnering the types of vital partnerships that will lead to a more inclusive labor pool.”
