Black History Month, celebrated in February, is an opportunity to learn about, reconnect with, and celebrate the contributions and successes of Black professionals to society. NPower Canada uplifts Black voices and is committed to our mission to make the Canadian economy, and tech in particular, a more equitable and diverse place. Nationally, over 1,500 of our 6,000 alumni self-identify as Black, and we proudly highlight across our platforms the Black innovators in tech and celebrate the successes of our Black alumni and staff.
Recently, we sat down with Kevin Rhule-Taylor, an NPower Canada alumni who self-identifies as Black and has found success in the tech world.
Prior to joining NPower Canada in 2019, Kevin struggled to even hear back from potential employers, let alone get an interview. “I was struggling to get a reply to my job applications. I had gone to school for software development and had co-op experience under my belt, but it seemed like I was lacking in some areas and I wasn’t sure how to fix that,” Kevin said.
In joining the program, Kevin gained confidence and became “comfortable being [him]self,” allowing him to put his best foot forward in interviews and land a role with Manulife, the first company he interviewed with after graduating from our Junior IT Analyst program. He felt capable of being himself as others treated him the way he treated them: “as a person.”
Today, Kevin works as an Associate Full-stack Software Engineer at Manulife, and is grateful to be respected and valued by his employer:
“At Manulife, everyone’s thoughts and opinions can be shared, heard and valued. It feels great to know that I can provide input and be a part of making a positive difference to our work environment.”
We are so happy to be able to celebrate Kevin this Black History Month. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Manulife, and to elevating more Black individuals and communities, and building a more inclusive Canadian economy.
Manulife
Manulife is building a better business to better the world through their Impact Agenda and three main pillars: Empowering health and wellbeing to help lay the essential foundation of a good life, driving inclusive economic opportunities to create a more even playing field for all. Accelerating a sustainable future to preserve the planet we all share. Driving inclusive economic opportunities is central to Manulife’s commitment with NPower Canada.Manulife is dedicated to accelerating the upward mobility of underrepresented groups such as people of colour. Manulife has been a supporter of NPower Canada since 2021. 81% of their NPower Canada hires are BIPOC, and 19% identify as Black/African-Canadian.
To learn more about Manulife’s progress against its Impact Agenda objectives and focus on sustainability, visit Manulife.com/sustainability
