Ep. 28- The Mission to Advance Equality in the Tech Industry with Bertina Ceccarelli

Speaker 1: 

Welcome to Digital-First Leadership. The podcast that focuses on helping leaders and teams understand  how to master the language of social media in today's digital first world. 

Richard Bliss: 

Welcome to the show. I'm Richard Bliss, your host, and you're listening to Digital-First Leadership  podcast. Today, my guest is Bertina Ceccarelli. And Bertina joins us from New York City where she's the  CEO of NPower. Bertina, thank you for joining me. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Well, thank you so much for the invitation. It's great to be here with you. 

Richard Bliss: 

It is a lot of fun. You and I have known each other a short amount of time. Connection is David Riley,  former CIO of Bank of America who introduced us. He's, I think, the on your board, is he the chairman of  your board? 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

He is the chairman of our board. Yes, indeed. 

Richard Bliss: 

And we are going to have him on the show, as well, to talk about some of the things that he does. But  it's a pleasure to be here, particularly because I've been working for a short time with the NPower  organization. And I'm going to pull this [inaudible 00:00:59] LinkedIn profile because as I look at your  LinkedIn, this is what it says in the opening. It says that you're on a mission to advance equity in the tech  industry, to disrupt the status quo, to build a more inclusive workplace as the CEO of NPower. Help my  audience understand where that passion comes from and what we're talking about when you talk about  that passion to advance equity in the tech industry. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Well, Richard, listen, it is no surprise to you, or I'm sure your audience, that people of color, women are  dramatically underrepresented as a percent in the field of technology. And yet these are jobs that have  high growth opportunities, great salaries. And when I think about disrupting the status quo to change  that equation dramatically, it requires an investment and innovation and how we think about very  differently, developing, cultivating, attracting underrepresented talent into the tech field. And that's  what NPower does. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Really, our mission is to identify candidates, young people from oftentimes underserved communities,  veterans, their spouses, military personnel transitioning out of their military service. And present to  them an opportunity to change their life outcomes through a career in technology. And we are simply a  bridge that provides the training and the professional development and the on-ramps to a career that  truly can be life changing. 

Richard Bliss:

Bertina, that's what drew me to you in the first place. Because as David Riley and I were working  together, he mentioned his role with NPower. And as a former veteran myself, I have always been  drawn to the understanding of how difficult sometimes can be for individuals to make that transition  from the military life, to the civilian life. The language, the lexicon, the cadence of speaking and how you  approach a problem. And that's why I was drawn to your organization. And I know having worked with  veterans myself, there are some challenges that veterans, and you said youth or young people coming  out of these underserved communities. They're facing some distinct challenges that you address. What  are some of those challenges? To help the audience understand maybe where they're coming from. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Yeah. So listen, I sort of think about those barriers in three categories. The first is really experiential. And  I say that because we know a lot of companies, what they first look for at a candidate is, have you done  this job before? Well, that's going to be an automatic strike for so many of the candidates coming  through NPower. Because they're coming to us oftentimes from minimum wage jobs, that might be  part-time, they might be service sector, they might be security guards. They're not bringing to a Fortune  500 company, an immediate connection in their background and skills and experience to what that entry  level tech job might require. And so without a program like NPower, they're not even going to get a  chance. So the first barrier is experience. Maybe they didn't go to the right college, or they don't have a  college degree at all. And some are facing barriers, which I think of in a category really connected to  poverty. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

The second category of barriers, which are often constructed by conditions of generational poverty. It  might be having stable living arrangements, having stable childcare access, or just absence of a network  of people who have been in professional careers or tech jobs, that they can identify with and ask for  advice. So, that's the second barrier. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

And the third I would just say is, maybe in the category of personal withholding. And I say that because  some of what we see, and this is both in our young adult and our veteran populations, is a need to boost  self-confidence. There is a characteristic of imposter syndrome that we work very, very hard to help our  student candidates overcome. And we've got some specific methodologies to help with that. Some of it  may be language barrier, and I don't mean verbal language, but oftentimes it's body language. Even if I  think about our veteran candidates, and you've probably seen this yourself, Richard, looking somebody  in the eye, or even a smile. These are sometimes qualities and characteristics that the military are not  always looked well upon, but when an interview, that kind of connection face to face, is really  important. So those are, I would say, the general categories of barriers that we help our students  overcome. 

Richard Bliss: 

And this is why I was so drawn to the NPower organization when I first was introduced. Because as we  train and teach [inaudible 00:06:00] presence, online digital presence. The podcast is called Digital-First  Leadership, the idea of, how do I present myself online? I just sat through a session training, some of  your students and alumni minutes before we got on this call. And one of the things I helped them point  out is that for example, one person had put in that they're hoping to start a career in cybersecurity.  Which is great, tech position.

Richard Bliss: 

I then pointed out to them that language implies that they are leading with an acknowledgement that  they don't know anything. And I changed the language to say, are you saying that you're hoping  somebody hires you to teach you things you don't know? Are you hoping somebody ... because you said,  I hope, which implies doubt. That as I start my journey, which implies lack of experience. That I can learn  about cybersecurity. And I simply change the language for them on that LinkedIn profile that says, "And  I'm drawn to cybersecurity because of my background in the military helps me understand how threats  today from the [inaudible 00:07:02] to digital are critical to any company and any organization." 

Richard Bliss: 

That language ... and that's where you're talking about language. They were feverously taking notes as  we were talking. But it's helping them understand not how to identify their gaps and weaknesses and  lack of experience. But draw upon the very things that they do know. And that's something that I think  that you're identifying here. We also train a lot of new sales reps who have hired out of the service  industry, coming out of retail, who are brought into the tech industry to be a new service rep. And  oftentimes the challenge they face is that they're talking to people who have been in their careers  longer than they've been alive. And so we help them understand how to not have that imposter  syndrome, that you have an organization behind you. You're not there because you know all the  answers, you're there because you can get the job done. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

And I think 

Richard Bliss: 

So, I'm very ... yep, go ahead. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

I think Richard, what you're pointing to is, we sometimes focus too much on barriers. Because our job is  to identify and help overcome, but in truth, some of these barriers are actually great strengths. And you  point out this example of somebody coming from the military and just this vast experience, well might  not necessarily be directly connected to cyber technology skills. There's a pretty small gap that that  person has to leap over to get those skills. That's where NPower and our technical training comes in. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

But even if I think about that customer service representative, who in the heat of a very challenging  customer call has to smooth over ruffled feathers, calm the person down, do some on premise problem  solving, quick thinking. All of these are exactly the kind of professional skills somebody on a help desk  working with a senior executive whose PowerPoint presentation just blew up. You've got to be calm,  cool, collected, and a problem solver on the spot to be able to do that job. So I think it is really looking at  these strengths that can connect directly to the jobs that are entry level in tech. And again, just burst  them with the technology skills that you could acquire through certifications. 

Richard Bliss: 

Yeah. And that's excellent. And in today's world, we've got this rapidly changing workforce. This hybrid  environment, are there something that you help or students understand how to take advantage of this new ... because when you and I were going in the workforce, if you worked from home, that was  euphemism for unemployed. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

That's right. That's right. Of course, of course, boy, the world has changed so dramatically. And look,  while I think every company is settling on some very different norms and it does look very different from  culture to culture. There's three things that I keep in mind as I talk to both our team at NPower and  student candidates, which is really the following. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

First, you got to be visible. And I mean that literally and figuratively. When you are on a Zoom or WebEx  or Teams call, have your camera on, be present. And also be visible in terms of connecting in real time  with your colleagues. There's always the meeting after the meeting or before the meeting. It's where  sometimes the real work gets done. And if you just sort of disappear and you're not a part of those  conversations, your visibility into the organization and your colleagues understanding a view as a valued  team member gets undermined. So visibility is key. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

I think the second thing is just really building those relationships and being very intentional about that.  Be known as a strong communicator, as a strong problem solver. Be that ally to colleagues where you're  the go-to person, they know they can count on to get stuff done. And then I think the other thing that I  would say is create boundaries for yourself. Because I think the other challenge in this hybrid and  remote work environment is it is so easy to be consumed by back to back calls where you feel like,  "Okay, it's six o'clock at night, now this is where I'm getting my real work done." And that is not healthy  or sustainable for anybody. So trying to carve out that time and block out space to the degree anybody  can, to do the follow up and communications is something helpful for anybody's sanity. 

Richard Bliss: 

Yeah. My wife and I both work from home, we're both in tech and sometimes we don't see each other.  Oftentimes my calls start at 5:00 AM, because I'm in California, I'm dealing with the UK, I'm dealing with  Germany, so she's asleep. And then her calls will go to 6:00 or 7:00. And so we sometimes see each  other once or twice ... we work in the same house, although I'm in a tent in my backyard. It makes it  very interesting experience of those personal boundaries and sometimes we feel at it, as well. 

Richard Bliss: 

One of the things I wanted to ask about is that as you bring in candidates who are part of the NPower  program and you work with these individuals, are there certain sets of skills that you are looking to  teach them? Or certain set of skills that you're looking to enhance that maybe they're even unaware  that they have? 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Yeah. So, it's a really great question. And what I'll maybe first respond to is just the qualifications we  look for in students and trainees who come into the NPower program. And we have basic criteria that  are really straightforward. You need to be able to legally work in the US, have a minimum of a high school diploma and just have a really strong passion for technology. But you don't have to have  experience, nor are we going to put you through a whole battery of assessment tests. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

What we are going to look for is a kind of grit and resilience that suggests you can go through a pretty  tough half day program for 16 weeks and that you're willing to do the hard work, to do the homework  and to sit for some pretty challenging certification tests. Whether through CompTIA or through a  program that we have in partnership with Google and other great companies like Amazon Web Services. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

So if you are willing to put in the effort and the time commitment, part of our commitment to students  is that we'll surround you with the social support of services to help you overcome some of those  barriers we talked about earlier. We'll help you with professional development, much like, Richard, the  work that you are doing with our students to help them shape their LinkedIn profiles. And we'll connect  you to either a department of labor registered apprenticeship program or an internship, so you can get  that on the job, real experience. So that when we do connect you to a full-time job opportunity, you can  talk about what you have done in the tech sector, in industry. And you no longer have to worry about  that barrier of, I don't have tech experience. Because now you do. 

Richard Bliss: 

Yeah. And I work with a lot of, like I said, new sales reps and they've worked at The Gap or they've  worked at Abercrombie and whatever. And they're wondering, one of them asked me today, "I had a  filler job, I had a bereavement. Do I put that in there?" And I'm like, "No. Work on focus on the skills that  you have that will bring benefit." And oftentimes their hidden skills, their passion, their grit, their  determination, their ability to overcome, all of those things are there. And I think that's fantastic. 

Richard Bliss: 

Here's something, though, that I'd like to touch on. Moving away from the students, and that is to the  organization, itself. I work here in Silicon valley, a lot of my clients, most of my clients are large tech  firms. But many of those are involved with NPower themselves. For those who are listening, who are  part of that industry, help them understand how their companies could get involved or be involved with  NPower. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Oh, and there's many different ways, Richard, that we invite the engagement of corporate partners.  First, starting with volunteer engagement. We are so fortunate to have volunteers from all levels of the  tech hierarchy. And that includes HR professionals and sales professionals, including technologists who  come in and give a guest lecture. On maybe a technical topic as part of the curriculum for the week, or  maybe professional development on how to prepare for an interview or spiff up your resume. We have  a formal mentoring program that a number of our corporate partners engage with. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

And then we also have a series of leadership volunteer activities through regional advisory boards,  through a national advisory council, through our governing board at the national level. And at each of  these, we invite feedback on our curriculum, on our students, on our programming. Because what's essential to us is that we are meeting the needs of our employer partners so we can get better, we can  be agile and continue to innovate based on the feedback we get from those partners. So I see that  engagement and participation is absolutely essential to our success. If we are going to continue to have  impact and grow and help the communities we target. 

Richard Bliss: 

That's excellent. How would people find out more information about NPower? 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

All they need to do is go NPower.org. And there's a very easy way to find out how to become involved  and how to hire our students. 

Richard Bliss: 

And that's NPower with just the N, NPower.org. That's excellent. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

That's correct. Thank you. 

Richard Bliss: 

Bertina, I really appreciate you taking the time. I know you're busy, I know you've been under the  weather a little bit. So thank you so much for taking the time to kind of talk about a little bit of the  impact you're having on the lives of other individuals and how organizations can get involved. Thank you  for your time. 

Bertina Ceccarelli: 

Well, thank you, Richard. I really appreciate the opportunity. Look forward to talking to you again soon. 

Richard Bliss: 

As do I. You've been listening to the Digital-First Leadership podcast. I'm the host, Richard Bliss and my  guest has been Bertina Ceccarelli, and she's the CEO of NPower. I want to say thank you for listening,  thank you for your participation. And the comments that I receive from all of you who are involved with  the audience of this podcast. Thanks for listening. 

Speaker 1: 

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