prospective youth to get their careers started here,” he says, “but the goal of the program is to create as many internships as we can nationwide.”
During the press call, Martocci said he would like to see at least 1,000 internships in quality assurance made available this summer through the program. The target demographic is college-aged youths who are not in college.
Jon Bon Jovi, who was not on the call, is a member of the White House Council for Community Solutions and is reaching out to entrepreneurial companies in the tech sector to participate in the initiative.
Baptiste of Onswipe, said during the conference call that startups, including those with small teams, should consider taking on interns through the SummerQAmp program to improve their products and potentially change a life. “Companies shouldn’t wait too long to build their QA [quality assurance] team,” he said. “Even one intern through this program could make a difference.”
Other companies supporting SummerQAmp that also plan to take on interns through the program include eBay and Boxee. Several other New York technology companies are also lending a hand with the program. Software job recruiting firm Jibe is slated to provide its services to match candidates with companies. Education startup Knewton is helping structure the program. The CK-12 Foundation will make education materials on quality assurance available online to inform youths about this potential career path.
During the call, Chopra implored education institutions to get the word out about the program. “Help us design and disseminate these open and free learning materials in every community,” he says.
Gilt Groupe’s Haggard said during the call that the program may help keep the United States at the forefront of innovation as well as increase domestic employment. “Quality assurance is a great opportunity,” he said. “Today much of it is done offshore. There are lots of jobs out there but finding people with the skill set that know this can be tough.”
