Austin Tech Roundtable: Upskill Your Workforce

At this Austin Tech Roundtable event, we'll welcome the CEO of Austin Urban Technology Movement Michael Ward Jr. to share his experience of working with employers to train and hire marginalized members of the workforce, so they can thrive within the tech industry.

In this discussion, we'll explore:

1. Becoming an Employer of Choice. 
2. Recruiting from non-traditional pathways. 
3. Leveraging internships and apprenticeships to build your talent pool. 

This event is part of The AI Summit and IOT World Show, a two-day celebration of transformative and emerging tech, presented by Informa Tech at the Austin Convention Center Nov. 2 & 3. All roundtable attendees will automatically be registered for day two of the conference.

Agenda

8:30-9 a.m. - Coffee & Networking

9-10 a.m. - Roundtable Discussion

About our Speaker:

Michael Ward Jr. is a social entrepreneur who focuses on STEAM, workforce development, and economic empowerment. Originally from Miami, FL, Michael began his career at Oracle in enterprise sales, focusing on cloud and on-premise technology. During this time, Michael also led Oracle’s Black employee resource group to increase the recruitment, engagement, and upward mobility of Oracle’s Black employees. After Oracle, Michael spent some time at ADP and Primal7 where he gained a better understanding of human capital management and Austin’s startup ecosystem.

Currently, Michael leads Austin Urban Technology Movement (AUTMHQ) as President and CEO. He is also the Co-Founder of TwoWards Solutions, Co-Hosts Culture Crawl ATX, and sits on the following boards throughout Central Texas: Greater Austin STEM Ecosystem, the University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering, and the Texas Science and Engineering Fair. Michael is also a community partner of the IT Caucus of the Texas House. 

Before starting his tech career and entrepreneurship journey, Michael earned a degree in International Relations at Miami Dade College and two degrees in Political Science and Global Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

About AUTMHQ

Austin Urban Technology Movement (AUTMHQ) bridges the gap between the Black and Hispanic communities and the technology industry through job placement, career development, and networking opportunities. We are working to make the tech industry a more diverse ecosystem. We are achieving our goal by partnering with employers, organizations, institutions, and government entities to help the Black and Hispanic community get trained to enter and thrive in the tech industry, and radically change their income and build a career.