Austin to share in $4 million TechHire DOL grant

On Sunday, the U.S. Dept. of Labor announced over $150 million in TechHire grants, including $4 million for the Goodwill Careers in Technology (CiT) program in Austin, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, and Roanoke, Virginia.

“We’re good at creating tech jobs in Austin, and this TechHire grant will help Austin become better at getting our own people ready to take them,” said Mayor Adler. “Austin is an innovative city. We lead Texas in patents, startup, and venture capital. We need to be just as innovative in helping our residents take advantage of the opportunity and prosperity all around them or we will never get our arms around the affordability crisis, and this TechHire grant is going to help us do just that.” 

The CiT Program recruits and trains youth, women, African-Americans and Latinos into IT careers. This grant will serve over 700 young adults, unemployed and dislocated workers in the cities of Austin, Columbus, and Roanoke and surrounding counties and will prepare participants for career pathways in two high-growth IT occupations: Computer User Support Specialist and Computer Programmer. With training partners like Creating IT Futures Foundation and the online training provider MedCerts, as well as local workforce investment boards, CiT will award different certifications to individuals necessary to succeed in the IT industry. The program aims to specifically recruit underrepresented groups in the technology field, including women, African-Americans and Latinos. About 20 employers will collaborate with CiT by providing mock interviews; job shadowing and mentoring opportunities; Registered Apprenticeship, on-the-job training; coding training; and interviews for hire after program completion.

Nationwide, more than 18,000 participants will receive services through the TechHire grant program, with a focus on youth and young adults ages 17-29 with barriers to employment, as well as veterans and individuals with disabilities, limited English proficiency, criminal records, and long-term unemployment. Training will center on high-growth sectors, including information technology, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare.

The White House named Austin a TechHire Community on March 9, 2016, because Microsoft, Google and IBM will give paid internships in this community for about 200 graduates of accelerated training programs at Austin Community College, Texas State University and Zenith Education Group.

“The TechHire Initiative will help us create the best, most-effective job training ecosystem in the country. Austin is good at creating jobs. This will make us better at getting our own people ready to take those jobs,” Mayor Adler said at the time.

White House fact sheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/skills/techhiregrant-summaries_final.pdf

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