Month: August 2024

Sabre-Anne Elkins, then 17, was scrolling through her Facebook feed in the summer of 2021 when she spotted an ad, encouraging her to join a summer program and get paid.

The only requirement? She needed to identify as an Indigenous youth. A proud member of the Williams Lake First Nation band, she immediately signed up along with her 16-year-old brother.

“A paid training experience with certification – that’s what caught my eye. Plus, I get to be somewhere new,” Elkins said.

Dexterra Community Initiatives’ Outland Youth Employment Program (OYEP) delivers this annual six-week summer program for Indigenous youth in British Columbia and across Canada. The program provides a variety of certifiable training experience like first aid, chainsaw operation, trail building, and forest fire suppression.

Elkins achieved her certifications after her first year in the program.

“It’s empowering,” she says. “My brother and I came from poverty and have faced many struggles in our lives. So being able to graduate from that program, knowing that we worked hard and accomplished something, was really rewarding.”

Besides earning while learning, participants also get high school credits and a chance to build lasting friendships with their peers.

“Everybody becomes a family out there. They talk to each other all year long—both the participants and the staff,” says Brittany McCoy, OYEP Western Program Manager. “Other than the quantifiable outcomes, we see a huge development in the youth’s confidence levels, which is a big plus.”

Elkins returned to the program the next two summers. Up to 95% of participants also join the following year’s program, mainly because it’s not only providing a summer camp-like experience but a chance to get a full-time job. Participants are full-time employees, working five to eight hours with pay, plus a pay increase for the next year they come back to the program. In addition to free room and board, each participant can earn approximately $3,000 over the six-week program.

“This allows youth to get those first-job jitters out in a comfortable, healthy, and safe setting. We hope to set them up for the best possible success when they enter the workforce and take those first steps toward their careers,” McCoy adds.

This year, OYEP is hosting its BC summer program in Quesnel from July 16 through Aug. 24. On Aug. 7, Enbridge will host a day of training, career talks and a site visit at a Westcoast Energy compressor station, located south of Quesnel. The company is a proud partner of this national program, contributing $50,000 through a Fueling Futures grant.

Applications for the summer program is available through the OYEP website. However, all applications from June 1 are waitlisted, pending funding availability.

This summer, Elkins will skip the summer program for a good reason.

“I’m a full-time cook now, thanks to my previous experience as a kitchen assistant at OYEP. Being there opened up doors for me—and my employer recognized my breadth of experience and training from the program.”

Reston, Va., August 28, 2024 /3BL/ – Science Applications International Corp. (NASDAQ: SAIC) today published its fifth annual Corporate Responsibility Report, highlighting the company’s progress toward its environment, social and governance goals, and underscoring the mission-based culture that serves its customers and employees so well. 

“I take great pride in presenting SAIC’s fifth annual corporate responsibility report, which underscores the mission-based culture that serves our customers and employees so well,” said Toni Townes-Whitley, chief executive officer at SAIC. “This report highlights our success in integrating SAIC’s values of innovation, integrity and inclusion into every facet of our operations ― they form the bedrock of our identity and shape our actions as a leader in the defense and civilian sectors as we seek to help our government customers to solve the world’s most complex challenges.”

The report features the company’s foundational ethical practices and activities to ensure continued excellence in governance, including:

Establishing the Artificial Intelligence Council that works to ensure responsible use of AI across the companyIntroducing SAIC’s Human Rights Policy and updating our Supplier Code of Conduct to set clear expectations for social, ethical and environmental responsibilityDriving the importance of giving back and supporting the community, with employees volunteering 29,000 hours in FY24, an increase of 10% over the previous year and almost 40% over FY22

SAIC’s efforts to foster a diverse, talented organization that brings together unique perspectives to drive innovation has never been stronger. The company’s executive leadership team is 73% women or people of color – with 46% women and 46% people of color – and the Board of Directors is 46% women and 36% people of color. To ensure leadership reflects the diversity of the workforce, SAIC set goals to achieve parity in the representation of women and people of color between leader and non-leadership roles. In fiscal 2024, SAIC sustained parity for women in leadership at 28% and improved parity for people of color in leadership to a total of 25%. Finally, based on population of full-time, non-executive employees, SAIC’s gender pay gap was less than 1%, with the pay equity ratio approximately 99% for the compensation of women relative to men.  

In terms of environmental stewardship, the company showcases continued progress in areas such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Most notably:

Lowered Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 41% since 2019Set a new carbon target based on 2022 data: a 20% reduction in GHG emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) by 2030Set the company’s first portfolio-wide energy reduction target: a 12% reduction in electrical energy use by 2030

As with past reports, the current publication includes SAIC’s response to the Global Reporting Index (GRI), a Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) report as well as the ESG Reporting Framework and Standards Index, which also incorporates the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

For more information on SAIC’s efforts on Corporate Responsibility, sustainability & ESG, visit: https://www.saic.com/who-we-are/about-saic/corporate-responsibility. 

About SAIC
SAIC® is a premier Fortune 500® technology integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation to serve and protect our world. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, civilian and intelligence markets includes secure high-end solutions in mission IT, enterprise IT, engineering services and professional services. We integrate emerging technology, rapidly and securely, into mission critical operations that modernize and enable critical national imperatives. 

We are approximately 24,000 strong; driven by mission, united by purpose, and inspired by opportunities. SAIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, which is core to our values and important to attract and retain exceptional talent. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $7.4 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For ongoing news, please visit our newsroom.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release contain or are based on “forward-looking” information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “guidance,” and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements in this release may include, among others, estimates of future revenues, operating income, earnings, earnings per share, charges, total contract value, backlog, outstanding shares and cash flows, as well as statements about future dividends, share repurchases and other capital deployment plans. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk, uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results may differ materially from the guidance and other forward-looking statements made in this release as a result of various factors. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause or contribute to these material differences include those discussed in the “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Legal Proceedings” sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated in any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC, which may be viewed or obtained through the Investor Relations section of our website at saic.com or on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Due to such risks, uncertainties and assumptions you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. SAIC expressly disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statement provided in this release to reflect subsequent events, actual results or changes in SAIC’s expectations. SAIC also disclaims any duty to comment upon or correct information that may be contained in reports published by investment analysts or others.

Media Contact:
Caralyn Duke
757.784.4546 | caralyn.duke@saic.com