Software testing company welcomes 11 new employees (6 photos)

Tuesday marked a double celebration in Sault Ste. Marie for Fredericton, New Brunswick-based Professional Quality Assurance (PQA) Testing.

The company, established in 1997, is a provider of software testing solutions with over 100 Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees across Canada, while its Professional Aboriginal Testing Organization (PLATO), created in 2015, is specifically dedicated to training and employing Indigenous people as software testers for clients in many sectors.

PQA marked the official opening of its Centre of Excellence office in the Sault Tuesday, located in the Station Tower, also recognizing the 11 latest graduates of its PLATO software testing training program.

The graduates honoured at the Sault office are from four different First Nations communities.

The current group of graduates started training Feb. 4, in class for 15 weeks at Sault College, each of them now having completed or about to complete eight-week internships, said Jennifer Rushton, PQA Lottery and Gaming vice president, speaking to SooToday.

The base criteria for acceptance into PLATO training is to be Indigenous, have a Grade 12 education or its equivalent, along with a willingness to learn and commit to the training.

“They have all been offered full time employment with our company here in Sault Ste. Marie. They’ll be working right here or at client sites locally,” Rushton said.    

“Before I started at PLATO I was working two jobs and didn’t have a lot of time to spare...it changed my life because I’m no longer working 13 to 14 hour days, so I have more free time to spend with my friends and family,” said local PLATO graduate Candice Tangie during a question and answer session.

“I moved here from Deer Lake with my family and I’m really grateful this opportunity came up when it did… I was between jobs. It’s not always easy finding employment, so this opportunity has provided me with a chance for me to be able to provide for my family in a way that I can be proud of,” said Leon Kyle.  

“It allows me to provide for my family. It’s a big game changer that’s improved my quality of life,” said Kyle Sloss.    

PLATO’s goal is to employ 1,000 Indigenous software testers in 20 communities by 2025.

“We’ve been doing this for four years now and this is the 13th graduating class we have in Canada, and we’re so happy to be here in Sault Ste. Marie creating jobs for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, bringing work that would normally and possibly be done in India or China and bring that remote work here,” said Keith McIntosh, PQA founder, addressing an audience gathered at the company’s local office.

“We’ve done this in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary... but we want offices not just in the major cities but also in cities that are slightly more remote and off the beaten track and cities in the north.”

“We’ll run another course in the winter. Our goal is to fill this office with a team of 50 people doing software testing for companies like OLG and Algoma, but also companies like LinkedIn,” McIntosh said.

Local political leaders made brief comments at Tuesday’s event.

“This opportunity PLATO has provided for our Indigenous students is so huge and so very important...PLATO answered the call and stepped up to the plate,” said Paul Syrette, Garden River First Nation chief.

“Senator Murray Sinclair said Truth and Reconciliation starts with education and training, and this is one example,” said Sault MP Terry Sheehan.

“This is a great idea...we know there are job opportunities in the lottery and gaming sector and we know that if we provide people with the proper training they need, we can get them to work and we can give employers the people they need to fill positions,” said Sault MPP Ross Romano.