Jobs of the future will increasingly require technology skills, and Best Buy wants to make sure today’s teens are ready.
This week, we partnered with The Clubhouse Network to celebrate the grand opening of The Flagship Clubhouse, a Best Buy Teen Tech Center in Boston powered by iRobot. It’s a place where teens will have free access to a wide range of technology and skills training.
Teen Tech Centers are a key part of our commitment to helping prepare teens from underserved communities for tech-reliant jobs. By 2020, we’re aiming to reach 1 million teens per year across North America.
At the grand opening in Boston, Best Buy President of Services Trish Walker said she hopes the new Teen Tech Center inspires youth there the same way a high school computer science class inspired her.
“That class is when my passion for technology was lit,” she said. “Technology has been a part of everything I do, and I want all youth to have that same opportunity.”
‘Learning isn’t just for school’
Best Buy’s partnership with The Clubhouse Network is a perfect fit because we both believe in the value of enriching lives through technology.
The Clubhouse Network was founded 25 years ago at The Computer Museum (now part of Museum of Science, Boston) in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab. The organization’s mission is to provide a safe and creative out-of-school learning environment where youth can work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop new skills and build confidence in themselves.
“Learning isn’t just for school, and this Teen Tech Center provides a place for students to learn outside the classroom,” said Gail Breslow, executive director of The Clubhouse Network.
For many teens, that can be a life-changing experience.
“We often think of things that could exist, but we rarely pursue them because we’re afraid we aren’t capable,” Clubhouse Network alumna Victoria Blaides said. “But at the Clubhouse there’s an energy that makes you feel more than capable. The energy actually inspires you to make things you thought were impossible — and that, to me, is amazing.”
This is Best Buy’s 20thTeen Tech Center, and we plan to expand to 60 locations across the U.S., Canada and Mexico by 2020. Click here to learn more about our mission to reach 1 million teens a year by 2020.