This past year has seen many professionals arrive at a crossroad.

Whether it’s contemplating a long-term career change or simply confronting the way business operates on a day-to-day basis, most professionals are being pushed to keep their eyes on emergent industry trends and developments more than ever before. No matter the stage of their career, it’s undeniable that many people have been forced to take a hard look at what the future holds.

This is especially true for Black and Latinx & Hispanic professionals who are just entering the job market and facing a make-or-break time in their career journey. With the current workforce facing unprecedented shifts, it’s more important than ever for professionals of color to find ways to get ahead of the employment and wealth gaps that experts predict will continue to disproportionately affect them. Facebook Elevate aims to bridge that gap.

Shaping Our Futures and Breaking Barriers

Facebook Elevate is a learning platform offering invaluable resources, networks and training tools for people looking to make a serious upgrade to their professional prospects. In its own words, Elevate is “a community and learning platform created to accelerate the growth of entities of color and celebrate creators who break barriers and turn dreams into realities.”

Facebook Elevate got its start in 2018 thanks to a group of Black and Latinx & Hispanic Facebook employees who saw the glaring disparities faced by minority communities looking to get a start in tech. These employees were passionate about creating long-lasting change and opportunities for underrepresented communities in the industry.

Elevate has trained over 5,000 individuals worldwide since then, with a range of training sessions taking place both virtually and onsite in major cities across the United States and the Virgin Islands.

While the program has largely trained its focus on communities of color, its offerings are available to anyone who could benefit from their wide range of programs and opportunities.

On The Rise Together

Elevate offers a suite of programs that are especially focused on the needs that matter most to small businesses, entrepreneurs, job seekers and creators: training, support, mentorship and more.

- - Elevate Workshops: Virtual education is provided for participants looking to upgrade their skills in the digital marketing fundamentals. The workshops come complete with a coach to offer support to participants at every stage.
- - Elevate Live: Live virtual sessions with a worldwide network of industry experts, who offer their insights and strategies to success within the industry, are tailored especially to communities of color.
- - Elevate Circles: A six-week mentorship program connects like-minded small businesses with experts and one another to create a network that shares resources and problem-solves common questions together.
- - Elevate Office Hours: One-on-one sessions with Facebook-certified digital professionals offer targeted mentorship on topics that cover the range of the digital marketing spectrum.

For Black learners and job seekers specifically, Facebook Elevate created the Elevate Scholarship and has committed to giving 100,000 scholarships to those seeking to earn a Facebook Blueprint Certification. These scholarships will allow aspiring digital marketers to take the Facebook Digital Marketing Associate Exam at no cost, creating an opportunity for them to begin their career journey or enhance their existing skill set.

When looking to create a sustainable future in digital marketing, no time is better than now for current or aspiring digital marketing professionals of color to keep their eyes and minds open for ways to level up. For students and job seekers interested in learning more about the Elevate Scholarship, take a look here to get more information.

Learn more about Elevate, and the level up your career here.

This editorial is brought to you in partnership with Facebook Elevate.

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