Introduction to BridgeInTech
Project information for BridgeInTech — Google Summer of Code 2020 at AnitaB.Org Open Source
BridgeInTech is an open source project I proposed to AnitaB.Org as part of Google Summer of Code 2020 program.
This project was inspired by the existing AnitaB.org Mentorship System (MS) which helps women in tech mentor and supporting each other. BIT extends this collaboration by allowing organizations to be involved through hosting the Mentoring Programs where the mentor and mentee can apply and work on.
Background Motivation
The idea for the app comes as the results of the following:
- the current technical skills gap in the IT industry that is felt by the businesses/employers as stated by Scott Matteson in TechRepublic, 6 June 2019.
- from my own personal experience, feeling like what I have learnt at university is not enough to help me be ‘work-ready’. I believe the app would help newcomers like me gain further knowledge through hands-on learning from the Mentoring Program with industry affiliation.
- from self-motivation being a mature age woman who is hoping to enter the IT industry as a career change, who can be considered to be among those within the minority groups of the IT industry. This app gives a glimpse of hope for me and people who are in the similar situation of a chance to learn the necessary skills and be work-ready so we can enter the industry and grow our career.
Benefits to the Community
- BridgeInTech serves as a talent pool that is recognized by the industry:
2. Organizations can use it as a starting point to look for a potential employee and ensure that the person will meet the skill sets they need for similar jobs within their own organization.
3. IT Professionals can use it as a chance for a career enhancement, for widening their professional network, even a possibility to gain some financial benefit (if any)
4. Graduates or other job seekers can use it as a way to gain hands-on learning to a variety of skill sets that are desirable by the industries.
5. BridgeInTech promotes equal opportunities by encouraging organizations to give priority in their mentoring program to people that fall within the minority based on the following categories: gender, race, age, sexual orientation, physical/mental ability, education, work experience, socio economic, and religion.
6. Supporting AnitaB.org Mentoring System by providing industry involvement to the Mentoring Program. Organization involvement can be in a form of (but not limited to):
- offering a small project (that is too small for the organization to make them hire a new person but will be too expensive for them to outsource because of the lack of talent out-there to do the job.
- providing resources needed (such as software, hardware, etc) for the Mentor/Mentee to work in the program so as to save them from having to use their own money when working on the program.
- providing financial incentive (stipend), even though volunteering option is also available.
- Offering support throughout the whole process of Mentoring Program by assigning a staff member to be the contact person for the program. They can even assign their own staff member to be the Program Mentor.
This type of collaboration between the organization, mentor and mentee will likely to bring the tech skills gap closer.
Who are the target users?
There are three types of users in the BridgeInTech Application:
Mentor
This can be someone who is:
- a dedicated mentor chose from within the organization that is offering the program.
- an IT professional who is keen to give back to the community by offering their time to be the mentor to someone who wants to update their IT skills.
- an IT professional who is looking for a career enhancement since their contribution in BridgeInTech program can be showcased as an addition to their professional hours.
- an IT professional who wants to have a taste of how it feels like to work with the organization that offers the program.
Mentee
This can be someone who:
- is in the beginning of their IT career and looking to gain hands-on experience with a real-project through the program.
- wants to add some professional hours to their resume.
- just like the mentor, wants to have a taste of how it feels like to work with the organization that offers the program.
Organization
This can be an organization that:
- is looking to hire new IT personnel and wants to give the chance to the potential candidate to showcase their capabilities through working in the program being offered.
- is looking for someone to work on a small-scale project
- wants to help the IT industry closing the tech skills gap by offering a program that is targeting the specific area where the lack of skills is apparent.
What makes BridgeInTech a better solution?
There are few similar applications out there that offer a similar concept (mentoring program) but with different target audiences and end goal.
Some of these are:
- Score.org, which aims to help small businesses to establish and grow by offering a mentoring program and workshops. Its mentors also come from volunteers like the mentorship system. It also offers flexibility in terms of meeting approach which can be at Score local offices or remotely via phone, video or email. The collaboration is in the form of advice given by volunteers (Mentors) to the small businesses they are paired with. Small businesses do not have to pay for the service.
- FreeManagerMentors, which aims to help managers and leaders (including small businesses) in managing their human resources better, such as team communication, communicating with the supervisors, effective recruitment, etc.
- Kaleidoscope Initiative Australia, which aims to help new migrants who are already skilled workers (professionals) to get their skills acknowledged and gain employment in Australia. The initiative welcomes volunteers who are professionals from a variety of industries to come and be the mentor for a newcomer. In regard to cost, the website pointed out that a person who is interested to be a mentee will have to pay (at the time of this blog is written) AUD $100.00 for when they have successfully matched to a mentor. It is not clear to whether or not there is an ongoing fee for the mentoring service.
- MercyCare Australia, which aims to help migrants to gain access to education, training and employment in Australia. It gives support giving advice and information on relevant education and training options, career planning, interview skills, as well as approaching companies to seek work opportunities.
Although the applications above have some similarities to BridgeInTech and support the community in their own way, they are different to BridgeInTech in the followings:
- They have a limited target on who can be considered to be qualified as a mentee. This poses a problem for people who are wanting support (to be a mentee) but are not within the category (for example, not a new migrant or a new migrant but with no work experience).
- With the exception of Scope.org, they offer support in a general area (such as human resource management, information on education, training and potential career), but not the actual hands-on learning program to further grow their skills in a particular area to enhance their career. Scope supports is more focused on the small businesses needs.
- To some extent, they have a weaker form of company affiliation as the effect of lack of incentive for the company to participate in the program. In BIT, one of the direct motivations for orrganizations to be involved is a chance to unblock their idle project. Whereas the non-direct impact could be to see more skilled people in the industry and help close skills gaps
Finding more about the project
BridgeInTech is still in its initial stage and under active development. To follow and/or contribute to the development, you can go to the following resources:
- Github repositories: anitab-org/bridge-in-tech-backend and anitab-org/bridge-in-tech-web
- Join AnitaB Zulip channel. BridgeInTech project is discussed in the #bridge-in-tech stream
You can also find more about BridgeInTech project from the following resources:
- Initial Google Summer of Code proposal
- BridgeInTech Proposal Review (live document)
- BridgeInTech Technical discussion (live document)
Feel free to reach us on AnitaB.org Open Source Zulip to contribute with feedback, ideas, or check if there are any issues you can help with. We welcome contributors from any background!
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