PQA and PLATO move closer to realizing goal of employing 1,000 Indigenous software testers.
(Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario – July 30, 2019) Professional Quality Assurance Ltd. (PQA) and PLATO Testing (PLATO) announce the official opening of the Centre of Excellence in Lottery and Gaming Software Testing in Sault Ste. Marie, the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg.
The opening, along with the graduation and ensuing employment of 11 Indigenous students who have successfully completed the PLATO Software Tester Training program in Sault Ste. Marie is a meaningful step toward reaching PLATO’s goal of employing 1,000 Indigenous software testers in 20 communities across Canada. PQA and PLATO are now delivering testing services to their list of global clients from their new Centre of Excellence, in the heart of Canada’s lottery and gaming industry.
The IT services training and employment model was developed by industry veteran Keith McIntosh, founder of PQA. In 2015, McIntosh established a second company, PLATO Testing, as a means to bring meaningful training and employment in the technology sector to Indigenous people, while addressing the technology talent shortage in Canada. The PLATO approach develops skilled software testers through a unique six-month training and internship program, which is provided at no cost to trainees.
“The thriving lottery and gaming industry cluster is one of the reasons we expanded to Sault Ste. Marie,” said McIntosh. “We can learn from the experience of innovative companies like OLG and CBN, and we can also share best practices and provide thought leadership as it relates to testing of software in the lottery and gaming sector.”
Jennifer Rushton, VP Lottery and Gaming for PQA, has been working with executives throughout the North American lottery and gaming industry to identify needs and position the Centre for success.
“We have been carefully curating an advisory group of lottery and gaming professionals who will add industry knowledge and experience to the PQA/PLATO testing platform in order to create a highly specialized program that can satisfy the demands of the industry,” said Rushton.
From their offices in nine cities and across five time zones, PQA and PLATO Testing provide expert quality assurance services and meaningful social impact to companies in the Lottery and Gaming, Energy, Industrial, Government, Financial Services and Telecommunications industries, among others.
About PLATO Testing
PLATO Testing was established in 2015 to train and employ Indigenous Peoples as software testers, delivering professional quality assurance services from or near their communities to clients all over North America. With offices from Vancouver to Miramichi, and a growing team of 60 Indigenous testers, PLATO is on a mission to build a network of 1000 Indigenous testers in 20 communities across Canada.
www.platotesting.com
About PQA
Founded in 1997, Professional Quality Assurance Ltd. (PQA) is Canada’s leading independent solutions provider of quality assurance and software testing solutions through a team of over 100 professionals. Headquartered in Fredericton, NB, PQA has additional delivery offices across Canada.
PQA employs a “Test Smarter” testing process that includes methodologies, frameworks and tools to ensure that testing projects are conducted intelligently across the entire software development life-cycle. We tailor our services to support your unique development and testing projects, keeping your goals top of mind. PQA can add value at any point in your testing process to help ensure successful project delivery.
www.pqatesting.com
Media Contacts:
Kaleigh McIntosh
Communications Coordinator
PQA
kaleigh.mcintosh@pqa.ca
Jennifer Rushton
VP, Lottery and Gaming
PQA
705-828-4282
jennifer.rushton@pqa.ca