On The Job

Robert Knowling, chairman, president and chief executive of Covad Communications Co., will be the headliner at the Information Technology Association of America's April 11 IT Workforce Convocation 2000 in Chicago.

Covad of Santa Clara, Calif., provides broadband Internet access using digital subscriber lines. Knowling is chairman of ITAA's Digital Opportunity Initiative to create more information technology opportunities for minorities.


"Bob Knowling is a leader in the IT field, and he is absolutely committed to building the IT work force through encouraging minorities to strive for jobs in this lucrative and fast-growing market," said ITAA President Harris Miller. "The high-tech community cannot afford to leave out any segment of the U.S. population. There is a critical shortage of workers for jobs that must be filled."

The ITAA Workforce Convocation 2000 also is hosted by the Chicago Software Association and will offer breakout sessions organized around four tracks: education, partnerships, professional development and outreach.
Virginia school teachers and students in inner-city Richmond and rural Appalachia will benefit from a new Mobile Learning Unit classroom that arrived in the state capital March 7.

The unit will provide hands-on simulations of high-tech jobs and access to information technology training to public schools in disadvantaged areas.

"Many of these students, teachers and principals have not previously had access to high-end technology equipment," said Joanna Hanks, dean of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. "Through the MLU initiative, we expect to increase retention of students through the completion of high school and to raise the number of students entering and completing post-secondary technical education programs."

The Mobile Learning Unit was provided through a partnership among the Virginia Office of the Secretary of Technology, J. Sargeant Reynolds and the Manufacturing Technology Center of Southwestern Virginia.