King of Prussia-based Qlik is teaming up with the Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation to support efforts to increase representation of people of African descent in the Greater Philadelphia technology industry. As a regional sponsor, Qlik will collaborate with BIT Philadelphia to provide training and upskilling for workers who are transitioning into tech and technology industry workers who aspire to advance their careers.

Due to COVID-19, nearly one in five Black Pennsylvanians was unemployed as 2020 ended, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute. That was the highest rate of unemployment for Black people in any U.S. state at the time, and the unemployment rate remains higher than any other racial group in Pennsylvania. The median annual income for computer and information technology occupations in the Philadelphia region is $90,200, according to recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and according to CompTIA, there are approximately 300,000 open tech industry and tech occupation jobs available in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Qlik looks to partner with organizations that truly make a difference and create positive impact toward a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive world. Partnering with BIT will enable Qlik to expand access for the underserved Black community to a range of resources and opportunities in the fast-growing data and analytics field, which is accelerating change across every industry.

Growing companies are looking for candidates that have a high level of data literacy — the ability to read, work with, and analyze data for action, and Qlik is an established leader in this area. Through internship programs to help create career paths, free data literacy training courses, and more advanced upskilling courses, Qlik will directly provide to BIT members the chance to truly transform their skills and career trajectories.

“As a regional sponsor, Qlik can have an immediate and long-lasting impact on the Philadelphia Black community,” said Dennis Schultz, Executive Director of the Blacks In Technology Foundation. “By removing barriers to entry into tech for unemployed and under-employed workers — through technical training certification grants, scholarships, and mentorship — I visualize BIT and Qlik changing lives for the better. BIT has programs and initiatives to assist workers at scale and transition them into new careers with family sustainable wages.”

“Qlik believes we have a responsibility to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for underserved communities to succeed and benefit from technology, especially so in the greater Philadelphia area with our worldwide headquarters based in King of Prussia,” said Julie Kae, Qlik’s Vice President of Sustainability and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “We’re excited to partner with BIT to create career opportunities for the Black community in the field of data and analytics, which is growing and transforming the way every company operates across the globe.”

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