QualiTest Group, the US’s largest independent software testing company, was recently invited to attend an event with President Obama, Secretary Pritzker, Secretary Perez, Valerie Jarrett, Cecilia Muñoz and Gene Sperling relating to the creation of jobs for the nation’s nearly 4 million long-term unemployed. The event featured a panel discussion on the challenges of creating a competitive, skilled workforce and recommended best practices that companies can take advantage of for recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed.
The invitation was extended to QualiTest in recognition of their recent work with Per Scholas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing career training in the IT sector for underprivileged adults since 1998. The organization’s work addresses a vital part of the President’s plan: problems of education inequality and their effect on the individuals who are currently trying to find employment in these trying economic times. Similar organizations in attendance included the National Skills Coalition and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships, as well as other foundations and business leaders from both small and large US-based companies.
This past October, QualiTest hired Per Scholas’ first graduating class of software testers, who were trained by individuals such as James Bach and Paul Holland. Yaron Kottler, CEO of QualiTest USA, expressed his commitment to the agenda of this event when he received his invitation: “This is more than just doing well by doing good; QualiTest’s strategic partnership with Per Scholas makes perfect business sense for us. We need talent to support our tremendous growth, which exceeded 100% in 2013, and Per Scholas is one of the very few organizations with a Software Testing program anywhere […] We were honored to join the president for this important event, and we support his efforts in promoting this demand-driven approach.”
Marybeth Cornell, A QualiTest employee and Per Scholas graduate, was invited to speak to the group along with three other individuals who have recently returned to the labor force after a long period of unemployment. “I’m so proud to have been included in this discussion. It’s such an important topic, and it resonates with me on a very personal level. I feel so lucky to have the opportunities I do, and I want to help others break out of their long-term unemployment and find satisfying work like I have,”Cornell said.
