During Black History Month, T-Mobile Launches Programs Focused on Driving Opportunity for Students, Tech Workers & Bus. Owners
February 08 2021 - 9:08AM
Business Wire
The Un-carrier continues its commitment to
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by kicking off a $2 million
investment in new scholarship, recruiting and business education
programs
What’s the news: Inspired by advocates who created
pathways to prosperity for Black Americans, T-Mobile is announcing
three new programs that will give students, tech professionals and
business owners access to valuable financial, educational and
career-development resources: Magenta Scholars, the NextTech
Diversity Program and Magenta Edge.
Why it matters: Change happens when everyone has
equitable access to resources, and these three programs will
provide just that for Black Americans. Stats tell the story of
opportunity: Students with financial support graduate at twice the
rate of Black students overall. Black workers with access to career
training and resources can break barriers in a
network-infrastructure workforce that currently is comprised of
just 10% Black technicians. Black-owned businesses will benefit
from access to free workshops and advice from experts, particularly
as they have been twice as likely to close permanently than
white-owned businesses because of the economic impacts of
COVID-19.
Who it’s for: Students at historically Black colleges and
universities, aspiring diverse workers in the tech and telecom
industries and Black small business owners — and allies who support
them.
This Black History Month, T-Mobile is introducing three
innovative programs with the goal of helping create more
opportunities for Black communities across the nation. The
initiatives — Magenta Scholars, the NextTech Diversity Program and
Magenta Edge — will provide resources and support to Black
students, tech workers and business owners as they build their
education, careers and livelihoods. These educational and
professional development programs are the Un-carrier’s latest
actions to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)
within T-Mobile and beyond.
“During Black History Month, T-Mobile is taking inspiration from
the legacies of Black leaders as we continue doing our part to
advance equity across the country,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of
T-Mobile. “The Un-carrier has long stood for diversity, equity and
inclusion to better serve our customers, improve how we work
together and advance our communities. With these new programs, we
hope to continue to do our part in creating meaningful
opportunities for Black Americans across the country and provide
resources they need as they build their own legacies.”
Magenta Scholars
Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce, and by investing in
their journeys T-Mobile is investing in America’s future.
T-Mobile’s Magenta Scholars program will donate $500,000 to
create 18 scholarships for students attending historically Black
colleges and universities (HBCUs). The program is a partnership
with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which boasts an impressive
80-90% graduation rate among its scholars — more than double the
national graduation rate for Black students overall. Scholarship
recipients will also have an opportunity to join the Un-carrier's
signature summer internship program and receive mentorship and
professional development opportunities. The application period
opens Feb. 18 and scholarships will be awarded in the fall of
2021.
Additionally, on Feb. 9, the T-Mobile Tuesdays app will give
T-Mobile customers a way to support the Thurgood Marshall College
Fund. For every customer that clicks on the donation option in the
app, T-Mobile will donate $1 to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund
(up to $500,000; minimum of $250,000), contributing to gap
scholarships that help students meet outstanding financial
obligations in order to graduate.
NextTech Diversity
Program
Black technicians make up just 10% of the telecom
network-infrastructure field, an industry with tens of thousands of
open positions that offer the potential for long-term, lucrative
careers to those with applicable skills and certification. Over the
next five years the NextTech Diversity Program aims to
provide career training and placement for thousands of
underrepresented candidates to take on roles as 5G network
technicians. The program kicks off with nearly $1 million in
funding, starting with $750,000 in initial seed funding from
T-Mobile and another $150,000 from other telecommunications
partners. Telecom trade school The Learning Alliance will oversee
recruitment, training, certification and job placement of
candidates as they create long-term careers in roles such as tower
climber, 5G small cell and field tech.
Sixty candidates will join the program in 2021, and T-Mobile is
inviting all national and regional telecom partners to contract
directly with The Learning Alliance to sponsor even more
candidates.
Magenta Edge
Black-owned small businesses in the U.S. have suffered
exponentially during the COVID-19 crisis and are about twice as
likely to close their doors permanently compared to other
businesses. A primary driver for this disparity is a longstanding,
systemic lack of access to resources and capital, including
difficulty getting business loans. Magenta Edge offers all
entrepreneurs expert advice and insight on how to navigate these
historically difficult times through the lens of Black-owned small
business owners and their stories. Magenta Edge provides free
educational programming on subjects such as best practices for
entrepreneurs while addressing systemic barriers to Black
small-business success. This is just the initial phase of Magenta
Edge, which will expand to supply additional resources in the
coming years.
Visit Magenta Edge for updates on programming, new content and
small-business support. Virtual workshops begin Feb. 11 and
registration is now open.
These new programs are pieces of T-Mobile’s broader work to
further diversity, equity and inclusion among the company’s
customers, employees and communities it serves.
Learn more about how T-Mobile is celebrating Black History
here.
About T-Mobile
T-Mobile U.S. Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America’s supercharged
Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative
nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for
all. T-Mobile’s customers benefit from its unmatched combination of
value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best
possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption
that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile provides services through its
subsidiaries and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile, Metro by
T-Mobile and Sprint. For more information please visit:
https://www.t-mobile.com.
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