The global software testing market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 21.15 percent over the period 2012 – 2016. In layman’s terms that is… a lot of jobs. The STEP curriculum, written by Barclays, is tailored to prepare students to compete for these entry-level software testing roles that are in high demand. The intensive course will be lab-based, instructor-led training supported by exercises, field studies, industry experts, and exposure to leading edge software testing tools. Students will be selected for the program after successful completion of the core Per Scholas 15-week curriculum and successful achievement of Comp TIA A+ certification.

By the end, Per Scholas participants will have acquired industry leading testing skills and techniques, be given access to real life projects, and participate in field studies to learn alongside working professionals and be given the opportunity to interview for apprenticeships for openings with our corporate partners, like Barclays.

Get Involved. If your company wishes to participate, there are many ways. Companies can provide facilities for Field Studies which will require 4 hours for students to visit a live project and observe software testing being conducted on a real world project. Organizations or individuals may participate in the STEP Mentoring program which pairs graduates with senior test professionals for career guidance and development. Lastly, the goal is to have 20 apprenticeships ready for students to be considered at partner firms with software testing openings. If you have an opportunity to open up to the Per Scholas scholars, there could be no greater contribution. To get involved contact info@perscholas.org to learn more and sign-up.

Click here for the complete program and curriculum.

Barclays and the supporting partners are pioneers. Their work with STEP is empowering Per Scholas to innovate with technology and as a result provide its students enormous opportunities in their life-changing careers. Learn more about the committed partners who helped make this possible:

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management. They are contributing training materials, access to testing experts as well as delivering training to STEP.  http://group.barclays.com/

Association for Software Testing (AST) is a professional non-profit association that is dedicated to advancing software testing and strives to build a testing community. They are providing graduates of STeP one year free memberships to the AST. http://www.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/

QASymphony creates simple, yet innovative products that manage the testing, tracking and replication of bugs in the software development process. They are providing free software and licenses for the STeP students to learn and practice test management, execution and defect tracking. http://www.qasymphony.com/

Satisfice is owned by James Marcus Bach who is a software tester, author, trainer and consultant. He is a proponent of exploratory testing and the context-driven school of software testing and is credited with developing session-based testing. Satisfice is providing discounted training in James “Rapid Software Testing” methodology.  http://www.satisfice.com/

SmartBear offers powerful, affordable and easy to use software development, testing, performance and post deployment monitoring tools. They are providing free software and licenses for the STeP students to learn and practice test automation. http://smartbear.com/

uTest provides “in-the-wild” software testing to companies of all shapes and sizes through a global community of 80,000 professional testers in 190 countries. They are inviting STeP graduates to attend their uTest “Sandbox” program – a real-world testing exercise – where they can earn money for submitting valuable bugs and receive professional feedback on ways to improve their skills. http://www.utest.com/

Workroom Productions is owned by James Lyndsay who has been testing since 1986 and has worked independently since setting up Workroom Productions in 1994. James is contributing his Black Box Testing Machines so students can practice techniques that can be generalized and transferred.  http://www.workroom-productions.com/

A special thanks to Keith Klain for making this pilot possible: qualityremarks.com/software-testing-training-at-per-scholas.

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Thanks to the committed partnership of Barclays and other generous sponsors, Per Scholas raised over $470,000 — a record amount in Per Scholas’ history — to support its free IT-Ready job training for hundreds of unemployed and underemployed adults in New York City and nationally. Over 300 corporate IT leaders joined us at the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station for an evening of fun, food and celebration.

The annual R.O.I. dinner celebrated our accomplishments with the corporate partners who play so many key roles in creating better futures for our graduates. We were thrilled to recognize the high level of impact that Joe and his colleagues have brought to Per Scholas. In a very short time, Barclays has engaged with Per Scholas in four essential areas – providing major funding, volunteers, employment opportunities and board leadership. The Per Scholas student representatives also stole the show. Graduate Servon Lewis, Neuberger Berman, was the keynote student speaker sharing his personal experience with the audience, moving many to tears. Graduate Michelle HarpervanRabenswaay, Barclays, presented the award to Joe with an emotional and inspiring speech as well.

The evening was a perfect mix of being moving, inspiring and fun. Per Scholas would like to thank all its partners who made the R.O.I. dinner a major success. Photos from the evening can be viewed here on the Per Scholas Facebook page.

Special thanks to High Point Solutions, Tom Mendiburu, and Greg Tusar for their very generous contributions from the evening — and the enthusiastic participants in our Heads & Tails auction. And lastly, and most importantly, we thank our sponsors whose generosity made this evening possible.

Barclays, Honoree and Opportunity Sponsor

Opportunity Sponsors: Cognizant, Creating IT Futures, Good Technology, High Point Solutions, Prudential, SAP

Reach Sponsors: Accenture, Broadridge, Capgemini, Ernst & Young, Dell, Informatica,McKinsey, NYSE-Euronext, PwC, QASymphony, Salesforce, Sungard, TCS, WWT

The Per Scholas Board of Directors

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This Wednesday, June 12, Per Scholas is proud to honor Barclays and Joe Squeri, Chief Information Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management, Barclays, at our second annual R.O.I. corporate dinner.

Thanks to the committed partnership of Barclays and other generous sponsors, Per Scholas has already raised $435,000 — a record amount in Per Scholas’ history — to support its free IT-Ready job training for hundreds of unemployed and underemployed adults in New York City and nationally. More than 300 corporate IT leaders will join us tomorrow, June 12, at the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station for an evening of fun, food and celebration.

The annual R.O.I. dinner celebrates our accomplishments with the corporate partners who play so many key roles in creating better futures for our graduates. We are thrilled to recognize the high level of impact that Joe and his colleagues have brought to Per Scholas. In a very short time, Barclays has engaged with Per Scholas in four essential areas – providing major funding, volunteers, employment opportunities and board leadership.

Per Scholas would like to thank all its partners who are making the R.O.I. dinner a major success.

Barclays, Honoree and Opportunity Sponsor

Opportunity Sponsors: Cognizant, Creating IT Futures, Good Technology, High Point Solutions, Prudential, SAP

Reach Sponsors: Accenture, Broadridge, Capgemini, Ernst & Young, Dell, Informatica, McKinsey, NYSE-Euronext, PwC, QASymphony, Salesforce, Sungard, TCS, WWT

The Per Scholas Board of Directors

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Here’s what one of our partners, QASymphony, had to say:

“QASymphony is excited to support Per Scholas and its mission to bring technology education and job training to underserved communities,” says Vu Lam, CEO, QASymphony. “We are offering free licenses of our testing products for teachers to use with their students in their new software testing education track.”

Read more here: http://ow.ly/lY2Go  

Very limited tickets are still available. We will be live Tweeting throughout the event. Follow #ROI13 to join us from afar. Attendees, share your Tweets!

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I attended the Coalition for Women in Tech Meetup at Control Group. Per Scholas is a founding member of the coalition, and as cliche as it sounds — I am psyched. Folks join the IT space often because the environments are fast paced and you have a chance to create something. With this Coalition, and all the energy and excitement that exists around supporting Women in Technology, it feels like Per Scholas will have a chance to help shape a small part of the broader agenda to help get more women into the IT field. Keeping true to our roots of helping those who are underserved and who would not get a foot into the IT world without our help will be our angle. I really think there is tremendous support, interest and appetite to make great things happen for the women we serve.

We are excited to be joining brilliant minds and leaders from NY Tech Meetup, Control Group, Girls Develop IT, AT&T, along with other champions like us — Girls Who Code, Hack n’ Jill, TheLi.st, NYTechWomen, Pipeline Fellowship, Plum Alley and Women Innovate Mobile.

More to come as this develops…

About NYTM
Founded in 2004 by meetup.com founder Scott Heiferman and co-founded by Dawn Barber, the NY Tech Meetup has over 30,000 members, representing professionals from all parts of the New York technology community. NYTM centers around its monthly events, where members gather to watch emerging companies demo new ideas, hear leading-edge thinking on technology topics, and build their networks to develop their businesses. NYTM has been integral in the birth of New York’s new Silicon Alley, with nearly every notable new company, including Foursquare and Tumblr, making their debut at a NYTM demo. NYTM is a not-for-profit, community-led organization. Its Executive Director is Jessica Lawrence, President is Nate Westheimer and Chair of the Board is Andrew Rasiej. www.nytm.org.

About Control Group
Control Group helps organizations envision and build their long-term future. Through strategic consulting, user-centered design, and multi-discipline engineering, Control Group enables organizations to translate their brand into more meaningful and profitable connections with their stakeholders across digital and physical touch points. The firm was recently recognized for their interactive wayfinding kiosks for the New York City MTA, Fast Company’s “Most Ambitious In-Store Retail iPad Experience” for their work with Kate Spade, and one of Crain’s Best Places to Work in New York. Control Group’s clients include leaders in Civic, Real Estate Development, Hospitality, Healthcare, Finance, and Retail industries. For more information about Control Group and its services, go to http://www.controlgroup.com.

About Girl Develop It
Girl Develop It is an international organization, certified by the Board of Education, that exists to provide affordable and accessible programs to women who want to learn software development through mentorship and hands-on instruction. For more information about Girl Develop It, go to: http://girldevelopit.com/.

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As the IT world around our students was quickly moving, next was the visit out to NB’s data center in Piscataway, NJ where multimillion dollar daily global transactions happen in real time through a super secure network matrix protecting accounts on and off shore. Per Scholas was greeted by multiple managers and VPs — as well as a Per Scholas alumna. Servon Lewis who was hired full-time after his training at Per Scholas through the company’s competitive internship program. Neuberger Berman created the internship exclusively available to Per Scholas graduates three years ago as part of its growing corporate partnership with Per Scholas. It’s produced numerous success stories, including Servon’s who will be speaking at the June 12 ROI Corporate Dinner.

After students heard from Servon and team, the students were given a rare peek, especially during a trading day, of the company’s 7500 Sq. Ft. data center space. Students learned how the center is powered, walked through a hot swap technical repair, and toured the live server rooms with the very individuals who created the infrastructure. Students were given something they will never forget and exposure that can’t be taught in a classroom. On the way back to the city, the energy of new found motivation and determination to have a successful IT career like the ones witnessed at Neuberger Berman was apparent in every student.

We gratefully thank Marci, Liz, Tony, Michael and Joe from Neuberger Berman for their continued support in helping our students succeed and dream for bigger and better careers in an ever-changing and growing IT industry.

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“The very woman who loves Saks Avenue and six-inch heels is quite capable of climbing ladders and using screwdrivers, with more creativity. I endeavor to overcome historical barriers–one stiletto at a time.”

Olympia loves the challenge of being a woman in technology, a field where only 25% of the workforce is female. “I feel my male counterparts may look at me and think I have a limit to what I can do, and that only motivates me to work three times harder to knock down these stereotypes and barriers facing women in this industry.”

Olympia is from Guyana, a country where computers are sparse — only one in 50 people had access when she lived there. She credits her grandmother for introducing her to technology when she sent Olympia to a typing class in her town. “Seeing a room full of computers was like the equivalent of seeing a brand new Corvette. I couldn’t wait to touch it.” This exposure had a permanent impact and the rest was history.

In her teens, her family moved to New York City where she completed her education in technology. She helped out a great deal with her church setting up computers, the networks, and even a website. Her new life motto became “Jesus and mother boards.” Despite these accomplishments, however, she still felt stuck, unfulfilled both professionally and intellectually. Then she found Per Scholas.

Enrolling primarily for the professional certifications offered (the CompTIA A+ and MCTS), Olympia couldn’t believe the level of education offered from a free program. “Per Scholas was the most amazing professional experience of my life. I was exposed to every aspect of IT, from cloud computing and peripheral connectivity to manipulating software and network devices,” adding that the hands-on experience surpassed what her bachelor’s degree in IT offered. “The experience stimulated my desire to further my IT knowledge and advance my skill set, which is irreplaceable.” Then there was the layer of being in a women’s only class, an environment vastly unrealistic compared to the IT industry as she had experienced it. “My most memorable experiences were our morning Tech Talks, where we talk about current industry trends whether it be Google or Intel at the start of class. Most of my classmates were new to IT and new to this type of social engagement, but eventually Tech Talks turned into the part of class we all eagerly awaited. It was our daily dose of caffeine.”

It is extra exciting that Olympia landed at PIMCO. The company has been an active corporate partner in volunteer engagements and generous funding, believers in our mission and students. They are thrilled to have her join the firm.

Olympia will pay this investment forward and looks forward to volunteering her time to share her story with other women and inspire them to follow her lead. “It is okay to be a minority of numbers, not qualifications. I allow my faith, my skills, values, character, and qualifications to define my path.”

We can’t wait to watch others follow Olympia’s path.

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So, he came on site and talked software testing to two dozen soon-to-graduate students. Here are some key (no nonsense) takeaways:

• Software testing is the biggest growth segment in IT. The jobs are expected to double over the next two years.
• Companies have lots of legacy systems and are increasingly complex. This means job insurance for skilled testers.
• Software testing has had a low barrier to entry, but to be skilled, you need a brain that thinks critically.
• Learn to learn. People will ignore you if you are not relevant. You must self educate — always.
• To be a good tester, be curious. Ask questions, ask “Why?” (a lot). Don’t just execute steps and walk through the motions. Really try to find the problems and ask why something may not work.
• “Culture eats strategy for lunch.”
• You will want to change the world in a new job (everyone thinks this) but you need to realize and recognize that status quo is hard to change. Not impossible, just hard. Manage your expectations.
• Don’t accept mediocrity

There is also a major commitment made by the Association for Software Testers (AST), of which Keith Klain is a board member, to share curriculum to grow the talent and pipeline of workers in this field. Over the next several months we will be exploring curriculum development for Per Scholas students and alumni in software testing as well as creating a job placement track for testers.

We are hugely appreciative of Keith spending time with us and being so passionate and realistic about the possibilities this holds for Per Scholas. This is why Joe Squeri and Barclays are being honored at this year’s ROI Corporate Dinner. When they make a commitment to invest in their community — they mean it.

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“We operate in an environment of perpetual and constant change”.

As a leader in an organization, one can take this as a compliment or an insult. I for one fall squarely into the camp that this is not only a compliment but a necessity if we are interested in innovating and pushing ourselves and our organizations to perform at our highest levels.

I have been in the role of Executive Director at Per Scholas for going on 6 weeks and I have been completely impressed with the dedication, commitment, tenure of many in the team at both a management and staff level. We have a strong appetite to innovate, to pilot, to partner with like-minded organizations, and to mesh social justice and policy issues with smart operational management.

If we are doing our jobs right, and I think we have been, this means we also will fail at some things. We have our share of problems here and we encourage staff to “fall in love with our problems.” This means being brutally honest about what works and doesn’t and shining a huge spotlight on areas that can be improved.

While most of us (myself included) operate with a “failure is not an option” mindset in the big picture, at the micro level I actually think we need to accept small failures every day in order to improve, learn, and grow. And I was encouraged to be more open and broadcast this kind of dialogue by Beth Kanter’s recent post challenging nonprofits to do small experiments around ideas that just might fail. We missed the “deadline” for that specific challenge, but we are all for embracing past and inevitable future failures.

A recent small failure of ours was not hitting a recruitment goal by the media buys we spent a LOT of money on (though we worked with community organizations to make up the difference).

Lesson learned: Use data to better track marketing efforts and outcomes and adjust the approach accordingly.

Or failing to secure internship experiences for candidates because we focus on full time placements (the main outcomes our funders care about). The irony is that focusing on internships might in fact make full time job placements easier.

Lesson learned: Think strategically about effort involved in achieving a goal and assess if there are different paths to get to the same end state.

Bottom line: Expecting failure and being relentless about assessing and analyzing how to perform smarter, better, and more effectively is a mindset that should be in the DNA of any healthy organization and a strong management team. Expect failure, embrace it and just make sure we learn from it. Being a cheerleader for staff is not about pretending everything is great, it is about celebrating small successes and helping people recognize, learn from and move on from small failures.

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Welcome Angela Thompson who joins our team as the primary Workforce Development Specialist in Columbus. She brings with her a dedicated career in Workforce Development priding herself on being a catalyst for uniting employers with qualified job seekers to promote economic development in Central Ohio. Prior to joining Per Scholas, Angela worked at One Stop (locally known as COWIC) and Henkels & McCoy, a commercial engineering company. Both organizations are committed to offering professional skill and career development services to members of the community in need. Angela’s steadfast commitment to stakeholders has allowed her to establish durable, professional relationships with local employers and a variety of community service organizations. We are excited for her to bring her expertise and established relationships in the community to further the careers of our Per Scholas students.

As the Workforce Development Specialist with Per Scholas, Angela’s continuous marketing and recruiting efforts will result in a classroom filled with learners in pursuit of an industry recognized certification, and career, in technology. Additionally, Angela will be responsible for the value-added job seeking skills instruction and individualized career coaching which is offered to current students during their training as well as graduates.

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Across the country, it’s a busy and exciting week for Per Scholas as our national expansion plan continues to unfold. First up on the agenda for the Per Scholas National team is a visit to Columbus, where long-time Per Scholas supporters Creating IT Futures Foundation (CITFF) is convening its board and paying a visit to Per Scholas Columbus. CITFF and Team Per Scholas will also be generously hosted at Time Warner Cable, who has been a leader in our favorite kind of support:  hiring six Per Scholas Columbus grads in the last four months alone!

Later in the week, Per Scholas National will be meeting with tech community leaders at the Northern Virginia Tech Council (NVTC), to discuss making Per Scholas’ newest home in the capital region. Interested in bringing Per Scholas’ IT-Ready training to the D.C. area? Please join the conversation at the next NVTC Workforce and Education meeting this Friday, or get in touch with Miriam Ackerman to discuss ways to support our replication in D.C.

Things are just as busy and happening in our New York location with three classes spending all of Wednesday on a corporate field trip to Neuberger Berman, a committed corporate partner of the organization whose paid internship program has turned out some of the greatest alumni success stories. On Thursday, Keith Klain of Barclays will be on-site to discuss Quality Assurance testing career tracks with students in the morning and Gigi Stone, correspondent of Bloomberg TV, will meet with students in the later half of the day.

What a busy, busy week! We are excited and grateful for all the positive engagements on the calendar and extend thanks to all the supporters who make it possible.

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