“Multiverse at its core is building an outstanding alternative to college and corporate training. We see apprenticeships as the best way to achieve this mission. For us apprenticeships combine full-time employment with applied on-the job-training that really works backwards from the needs of employers,” says Sophie Ruddock, vice president and general manager for North America, Multiverse. “We’re operating in a space where we’re tackling huge skills challenges around software engineering, data analytics, digital marketing, which is really the number one issue on every single executive’s plate.”

“The other challenge that we’re looking to address is that of diversity. We do that by really democratizing access to the best careers by finding high potential individuals without a four-year college degree, matching them to employers, and then training them up on the job.”

Ruddock explains that Multiverse’s apprentices are placed in jobs after a rigorous vetting process. Additionally, their online learning is taught by instructors with industry experience.

She adds that what most excites her is the community that Multiverse builds for its apprentices. “This is how we build that really outstanding alternative to college and corporate training. That involves speakers from the Fortune 500, government officials, office hours at Harvard Business School so that our apprentices are not only developing their skills, but also developing as individuals, as leaders, and the social capital that it will take to truly progress to the boardroom.”

Ruddock says Multiverse is working hard to level the playing field, “What we see is about 55% of our apprentices are people of color. Over half are women and a third are from the most economically under-resourced communities. That is the same at the top of the funnel for those applying to those that get placed all the way through to those who then complete our apprenticeships and stay on.”

Click here to learn more about Multiverse.

WorkingNation—a collaborating partner of the ASU+GSV Summit—sat down with Ruddock in San Diego as part of our #WorkingNationOverheard social media series.

Hear from more innovators in education and tech in the public, private, and nonprofit spheres attending the ASU+GSV Summit 2021 here.

Follow the conversation on social media: #asugsvsummit #workingnationoverheard