A black-led youth non-profit based in Hackney is providing specialist mentoring sessions for disadvantaged youth in the local area who are looking to break into tech.
Partnering with the digital contact centre IPI, The Mentoring Lab is offering professional tech training and advice for young people from underprivileged and marginalised communities in Hackney, London, and the surrounding region.
As part of the initiative, IPI is delivering a series of digital mentoring after-school sessions, designed to support 10–17-year-olds who are typically from black and minority backgrounds, instilling them with industry-aligned expertise and an understanding of what it takes to succeed in a tech-based career.
Sessions cover the breadth and depth of tech and digital company operations, delving into topics like ‘tech for good’, IT security, digital marketing and entrepreneurship. Volunteers from IPI are heading up the specialist sessions – including CEO Sat Sanghera, who talked about the importance of self-belief in creating and leading a business.
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The two organisations first came together as a result of The Mentoring Lab’s collaboration with UK Youth – a charity dedicated to widening access to skills development programmes for young people across the UK.
Carrie Stultz, corporate social responsibility manager at IPI, commented: “The Mentoring Lab is an inspiring organisation that makes a real difference to the lives of the young people it supports. Through an evidence-based mentoring framework and active youth advisory board, they help young people to develop and achieve new and exciting skills that truly reflect their goals and interests.
“This is also particularly close to home for IPI as we are committed to supporting future generations in the tech industry by investing in their bright futures today,” added Stultz. “The Mentoring Lab is also based up the road from our London office, and it is so important to us that we give back to local communities, a value we share with Elaine (founder-CEO of The Mentoring Lab), and her fantastic team.”