The AVIXA Foundation and The Loop Lab have formed a partnership to empower underprivileged youth with professional skills for careers in the AV industry.

Providing tools for young people to be able to express themselves creatively, The Loop Lab gives them a door to the workforce, and with the help from AVIXA students will have opportunities like learning fundamental skills with courses like AVIXA’s Essentials of AV Technology and attending the annual InfoComm US trade show, taking courses and workshops at the event, and networking with potential industry employers.

The Loop Lab founder Christopher Hope says the partnership will be invaluable to its students.

“The City of Cambridge is at a critical moment in its evolution and many of its youth are without the resources to fully explore the opportunities all around them. AVIXA’s community, curriculum and industry intelligence will help these young people to find and exercise their true potential in the AV industry,” he says.

AVIXA Foundation program director Joseph Valerio says the partnership is a natural fit.

“The organisation’s focus on elevating the lives of Cambridge youth through technical training and job preparation aligns perfectly with our mission. One of the Foundation’s key goals is to increase awareness of AV as a dynamic, viable career path. This collaboration helps us bolster a growing pipeline of students from the region entering the AV workforce,” he says.

The Loop Lab recently partnered with the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT), a current education partner of the AVIXA Foundation. The agreement with BFIT solidified opportunities for Loop Lab students to receive college credit at BFIT for program completion at The Loop Lab. For their final assignments, Loop Lab students collaborate with employees at Amazon Audible on podcasts and videos to be used internally at Audible.

For additional information on the Foundation’s mission and programs, visit avixa.org/foundation.