Marking its first investment in Australia, the Cognizant Foundation has awarded a grant to CareerTrackers, an organisation working to address the underrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in professional jobs and private sector leadership positions.

"CareerTrackers are honoured and humbled that the Cognizant Foundation has chosen to partner with us and provide capacity building funding for our program. Our goal is to create pathways and support systems for young Indigenous Australians to attend and graduate from university, with industry experience and bright professional futures,” said Jennifer Elliott, executive director of CareerTrackers. “We believe that our vision of preparing young Indigenous Australians to take up leadership positions is well aligned with the vision of the Cognizant Foundation to inspire, educate and prepare people for the workforce."

With funding from the foundation, CareerTrackers will scale its successful programming that offers students paid internships, leadership training and professional development, and mentoring—in 2020, students who completed CareerTrackers’ internship program had a 89% conversion rate into full time employment.

"While ever-expanding industries like the technology sector offer unparalleled opportunity for economic mobility, far too few have access to the quality education, social capital and job experience needed to thrive in today’s workforce,” said Kristen Titus, executive director of the Cognizant Foundation. “We are excited to partner with CareerTrackers, our first grantee partner in Australia, as we work to ensure historically excluded and underrepresented groups are provided with pathways to success.”

Learn more about CareerTrackers at www.careertrackers.org.au.

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