NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and NetHope today announced that Accenture and the Accenture Foundations have awarded NetHope US$1.4 million to expand its NetHope Academy, which provides computer science graduates with internships and on-the-job information technology (IT) skills so they can find work in the IT sector.
With the two-year grant, the NetHope Academy will provide interns in Haiti and the Dominican Republic with real-world IT work experience and practical education needed by employers working in the developing world. The initiative will develop a replicable training and IT internship program, including a curriculum and learning management system, for select universities and will include a “train the trainers” component. Based on these efforts, the NetHope Academy will train 1,000 interns in three years.
The award, which consists of cash as well as the time and skills of Accenture employees, reflects Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which aims to equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.
“Supporting NetHope helps bring to life Accenture’s commitment to building skills,” said Adrian Lajtha, chief leadership officer at Accenture. “NetHope is proving it’s possible to make a significant, lasting impact on the economic well-being of individuals and their communities through IT training and connecting people with the right job opportunities. We are impressed with NetHope’s achievements and believe it’s important to expand those efforts.”
Accenture also announced that it is supporting NetHope with $250,000 in cash and time and skills to help design and develop an innovative suite of cloud-based services that will provide affordable, accessible tools for NetHope’s member organizations and their end beneficiaries. Through programs such as natural resource management and emergency response, as well as back-office services such as procurement and human resources, the “Humanitarian & Development Assistance Services Cloud” will serve farmers, doctors and nurses across the international development sector, as well as teachers and students at the NetHope Academy.
Accenture’s Technology growth platform and Accenture Development Partnerships, which employs an innovative not-for-profit business model that makes Accenture’s skills and capabilities accessible to the development sector, will look to leverage Accenture's extensive cloud computing assets to accelerate delivery for NetHope.
“We are delighted Accenture decided to extend the partnership with NetHope,” said Frank Schott, senior global program director with NetHope. “This will help us reach computer literate young people who lack access to the practical training needed to make them viable applicants for professional IT jobs such as working on IT help desks and being network administrators or telecommunications specialists.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 223,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$21.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2010. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About NetHope
NetHope, Inc., which started in 2001, is a new-generation collaboration of the international community’s leading nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) representing over $40 billion (USD) of emergency relief, human development and conservation programs in more than 180 countries. Through member collaboration and by facilitating public-private partnerships with major technology companies, NetHope enables members to leverage their technology investments to better serve their end beneficiaries. For more information, visit www.nethope.org.