As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our daily lives, we are making our 2022 KWality Talks available online for free.
Register: Online Using Eventbrite, Zoom link will be included in registration confirmation email
Location: Online
Time: The meeting starts between 11:55 am and 12:00 pm, a waiting room might be enabled if you arrive prior to this time. Meeting ends at approximately 1:00 pm.
Speaker: Denis Carignan and Abhishek Gupta
Topic:
A brief background of PLATO will be presented in the early half of the session, and a discussion of PLATO’s accessibility testing services will take place in the second half.
PLATO is a software testing and technology services company trusted by clients around the world. In addition to providing our clients the highest quality service, PLATO was created to solve two pressing problems: high unemployment of Indigenous youth and Canada’s shortage of tech professionals. Since launching, we’ve done that and much more. To date, PLATO has trained and employed over 200 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in meaningful technology careers, impacting over 60 communities and injecting over $10 million in salaries into the Indigenous economy. Hear from Denis Carignan, Executive VP Indigenous Impact & Innovation of PLATO, about our start, why Indigenous representation in tech is so important and where we plan to go from here.
Our years of expertise as a testing organization have allowed us to observe trends emerge and the demand for accessibility grow. In order to enhance and expand our accessibility services, PLATO built an Accessibility Testing Center of Excellence (TCoE) where testers can obtain training in accessibility testing and become certified. Abhishek Gupta, who oversees PLATO’s accessibility practice, will talk about the value of our accessibility testing service and how we’ve integrated it into PLATO’s train-and-employ model.
Bio:
Denis Carignan is a member of Pasqua First Nation in Treaty Four (Saskatchewan) and the EVP Indigenous Impact & Innovation of PLATO Testing. Since joining PLATO in 2016, Denis has become a national voice promoting Indigenous reconciliation and creating opportunities for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people to pursue successful careers in technology. In his role as President, Denis provides strategic direction on the organization’s management and growth and leadership on Indigenous issues. He is also critical in the development, maintenance, and growth of partnerships with Indigenous communities across the country. Denis has over 20 years of experience in executive management with the Government of Canada and has worked extensively with Indigenous organizations in Western and Atlantic Canada. Denis volunteers his time serving on the Board of Directors for two national charities—Imagine Canada and the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denis-carignan-3034a083/
Abhishek is a QA evangelist who is passionate about quality assurance and testing at all levels of the organization. He is currently the Director of Service Delivery, Ontario, and also leads Web Accessibility TCoE at PQA. Abhishek is PMP and has played key roles throughout his career in positions like Service Center Manager, Delivery Manager, QA Portfolio Manager, and led Managed Services Testing Teams spread across the globe. Abhishek loves to train and coach teams in software testing and its principles.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhishek-gupta-pmp/