Qualified Afro-Canadian students are not rare, but bountiful

BY JANELL PANTLITZ

“We are excited about it. We think it’s going to really change the course of these kid’s life.”
Nigela Purboo

I was interested in the naming of the start-up Onyx, so I checked out the definition. Onyx is a semiprecious stone that forms in bands of different colours such as black and white. It is not a rare gem. Once I understood this, I then could grasp why a start-up directed solely at empowering black youth would call themselves Onyx. Qualified black students are not rare, but bountiful. The stone is said to absorb negativity and is extremely powerful.

Mrs. Purboo has a Masters in Cultural Anthropology from Western University. She specializes in human rights and race relations, later devoting her time to various organizations some being; The York Committee on Community, the Race Relations and Policing Unit of the Solicitor General Office and other government-funded initiatives.

Before leaving the workforce for maternity leave, she was a key part of the team that spearheaded the Toronto District School board, Change Your Future Program – an effort that aligned perfectly with her passion for human rights and anti-racism issues and her philanthropic endeavours that focus on education and health care.

Mrs. Purboo mentioned that one of the main reasons behind the start-up of Onyx was the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and the coronavirus pandemic. Typically Mrs. and Mr. Purboo would make various donations centred around education, social justice and health care, especially for the younger generation but given the severity of the impact the year has had on a number of individuals, they didn’t think it would be enough.

All of her experience in the workforce has now led her and her husband Mr. Wayne Purboo to found the Onyx Initiative. The goal behind Onyx is to expand the black talent pipeline by fostering cohesive, mutually beneficial partnerships to close the systemic gap in the recruiting and selection of black university and college students for roles in corporate Canada.

They plan to achieve this by offering on-going mentorship. Mrs. Purboo mentioned, “It’s going to create, a ready supply of high potential black talent and it’s going to nurture a growing supply of internships and full-time placement.”

With partners such as Bell TV, TD, PwC, Manulife, Ryerson University, McMaster University, George Brown College and maybe some more in the future Mrs. Purboo says, “We have a really supportive group of partners and now we are standing with both corporate and educational partners so that more students with varied career interests will benefit from Onyx.”

Black university and college students can access the program in two different ways. The first way to access the Onyx program is by taking high-quality virtual training and coaching modules, offered online. These modules consist of self-paced tutorials and interactive sessions. These are accessible to anyone and certification is achieved at the end of the program.

The second way is through the Onyx Scholars program. This program selects black students and provides them with live, tailored and personalized training, coaching and mentoring before, during and post-internship. It also provides internship placement services.

According to Mrs. Purboo, “Through the last six, seven months, we’ve been, getting all of our data and research. It shows that 70% of internships will lead to full-time employment.”

She continued, “Hence the need for us to get these students early on in their college and university career, because the more internships they get, the more likely it will lead to full-time employment.”

It is important to note that this initiative is not only focused on internships and full-time employment, but also on retention and promotion.

If by now the Onyx Initiative intrigues you, you can apply for the program. You must identify as Afro-Caribbean, or Canadian, and must be either currently enrolled in a Canadian College/University, or within twelve months of graduation. The program currently allows for 200 students, and as of now it is fully online.

For more information on everything Onyx-related check out their website at onyxinitiative.org.

If you are interested in becoming a partner with the Onyx Initiative contact keenan@onyxinitiative.org