On October 12th, Per Scholas learners enrolled in our Dallas Cybersecurity and IT Support courses took part in a Career Panel event with catalyst partner, Workday. At the event, Workday volunteers contributed their business professional knowledge, discussed career growth, and provided advice to our learners in 1:1 career conversations. 

The event was opened by Lilly Giraldo, Giving & Doing Program Manager at Workday, followed by some words on Per Scholas’ mission and background by Miguelina Manriquez, Per Scholas’ Senior Manager of Corporate Engagement. Attendees then heard about career growth from Jenn Skogg, the Principal B&D Learning Portfolio Manager at Workday, before breaking off into individual conversations between Per Scholas learners and Workday volunteers. 

The professional development opportunities and resources provided by Per Scholas are a unique function of our training program, and one of several factors that set Per Scholas apart from our peer tech training programs. 20% of each of our courses is dedicated to professional development training, and learners are also presented with opportunities, such as this event, in which they can showcase their skills, participate in mock interviews, and receive insight and advice from real employer partners.

Since 2014, Per Scholas has partnered with Workday to create paths to financial security by providing people who do not earn a living wage with skills training and access to better job opportunities in the tech sector. Over the years, hundreds of Workday volunteers have supported Per Scholas learners through mock interviews, resume reviews, guest presentations, and mentoring sessions that prepare learners for entering the tech workplace. Alongside the time and talent of hundreds of Workmate volunteers every year, Workday has made a significant impact on Per Scholas by investing more than $1.4M to date. We look forward to continuing our wonderful partnership with Workday to train individuals for high-growth careers in technology. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and how you can partner with Per Scholas, please reach out to Miguelina Manriquez for more information.

In very exciting news, this month marked the return of Per Scholas’ in-person networking events, which have been held remotely for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our first two events were held in Atlanta and Dallas and created learning opportunities for Per Scholas alumni and an opportunity for them to meet and network with funders, employer partners, and industry experts.

The Atlanta event, Per Scholas Atlanta Homecoming: Level Up, was held on June 2nd, at the Marquis Conference Center and Patio in Atlanta, Georgia. Current learners and Per Scholas alumni had the opportunity to network and connect with fellow Per Scholas graduates, meet our wonderful new Atlanta team and Advisory Board members, and gain insight from Per Scholas staff and special guest industry experts on ways to bring their careers to the next level. 

“The Atlanta Homecoming Event was meant to introduce the Atlanta Alumni to the new staff and to welcome alumni who took remote classes to their home campus,” Sherri Sims, the Managing Director of Per Scholas Atlanta explained. “Our goal was to meet the alumni and offer our support in ‘Leveling Up’ their careers. We offered a networking session and two panel discussions…Overall the event was a huge success and several alumni have received interviews and job offers as a result.” 

In the first panel discussion, attendees learned about great ways to improve their resumes and LinkedIn profiles in a presentation by Per Scholas Atlanta Business Solutions Director Teri Gittens, and Senior Manager of Career Advancement, Stephanie Spencer. Kelly Raper, a Talent Acquisition Partner from Sage Software was a special guest speaker, who provided some additional tips and insight to the eager audience.

In the second panel discussion, attendees were taught some tips on moving to the next level of their careers by Per Scholas Advisory Board Member Nicole D. Smith, from the Harvard Business Review, and Sherri Sims. Special guest speakers for this portion included Prabhu Sadasivam, the Senior Director of Software Engineering, Insurance Technology, at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and Danielle Joiner McPherson, the Director of Global Reservations, Tech and Innovation at Delta Airlines.

Finally, attendees learned about networking best practices, ways to upskill in the tech field, and a wealth of alumni resources available to Per Scholas graduates. The event concluded with a Q&A session, a networking mixer, and an opportunity to have a professional headshot taken.

Our Dallas event, Per Scholas Dallas Leadership Connection – Stronger Together, was held on June 9th at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in O’Hara Hall in Dallas, Texas. The event offered an inspiring afternoon of exploring the impact Per Scholas Dallas has on the lives of our learners and the workforce community, as well as insight on how individuals and organizations can get more involved with our work. Per Scholas Dallas graduates from 2020 forward were welcome to attend the event, and attendees had ample opportunity to network and connect with corporate and community partners, meet our passionate Dallas team, and hear from our successful Per Scholas graduates.

The event began with welcome remarks and an icebreaker by Per Scholas Dallas Director of Employer Partnership, Monique-Saré Jenkins. Attendees learned some key highlights about Per Scholas Dallas from Dallas Manager of Career Advancement Jason Cancino, Senior Manager of Recruiting and Admissions Ciara Owens, and Manager of Financial Capability Janell Pollard.

Next, attendees heard from Adedeji Adefuye, a 2020 Per Scholas Dallas IT Support alumni, who now works for Per Scholas as an Instructional Assistant. Adedeji’s story is one of inspiring success, and an excellent example of the ways in which a high-quality, cost-free tech education can change lives. Attendees then heard about “Funding the Mission,” from special guest speaker, Jay McCall, a Program Manager at the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, a private family foundation based in Fort Worth, Texas, that is dedicated to funding initiatives centered around education, and the ways in which it can change lives and communities. Finally, attendees learned about “Partnering With the Mission” from Stephanie Kline, the VP of Client Services at YUPRO, and Tirrany Nettles, YUPRO’s Director of Recruiting. YUPRO is an opportunity talent placement firm dedicated to creating diverse, inclusive workplaces.

Monique-Saré Jenkins concluded the event with a call-to-action for alumni, funders, and employer partners to get involved with making Per Scholas a success and changing the face of the technology industry.

“The Leadership Connection event was phenomenal,” Monique-Saré reflected afterward. “After two years of being apart, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to reestablish our footprint within the local community by inviting some of our alumni, funders, corporate partners, and other community leaders to build meaningful connections over lunch.”

We look forward to continuing to hold more in-person events as the year progresses and providing exciting and enriching opportunities to our learners, alumni, funders, and partners.

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, including our footprint on tech training in the Dallas area. Since 2015, Per Scholas Dallas has prepared more than 1,200 individuals for a career in tech with our tuition-free tech training, with training tracks in IT Support, Cybersecurity, AWS re/Start, and Software Engineering. Our training equips learners not only with technical skills, but also the soft skills needed to secure a job and advance in the industry, through mock interviews, professional development, and resume writing training, as well as support and coaching from MSW-accredited Learner Support Managers and Financial Coaches.

Our expansion across the broader Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex has been made possible by our generous funding partner, The BlackRock Foundation, who has collaborated with Per Scholas Dallas to focus on extending beyond Dallas County. Dallas is one of the nation’s top tech hubs, but there’s a massive talent gap that’s leaving scores of tech jobs vacant. That’s where Per Scholas Dallas comes in – training hundreds of diverse technologists in the skills needed for today’s tech jobs and helping those skilled technologists launch high-growth careers in tech.

The BlackRock Foundation is contributing $5M over the next three years to help Per Scholas expand in six states, including Texas. A portion of the grant is dedicated to supporting our operations in Dallas, enabling Per Scholas to nearly double our impact in Dallas in 2022 compared to the prior year. The grant marks The BlackRock Foundation’s first major investment into job training in Texas.

The BlackRock Foundation’s support will enable Per Scholas to enroll nearly 800 additional learners into a variety of tech courses offered by our Dallas campus through 2023 and grow our footprint in North Texas by expanding remote training courses for individuals in neighboring counties. First up are Collin and Tarrant counties, where access to rigorous tech training is low, but local tech talent demand is high.

Such significant support from The BlackRock Foundation is enabling Per Scholas Dallas to continue preparing our learners for a successful career in technology. “Texas is a melting pot of diversity, multiculturalism, and more,” shared Ciara Owens, Sr. Manager of Recruitment and Admissions. “We’ve had much success connecting many learners across counties and thanks to committed funders like The BlackRock Foundation, we will continue to warmly welcome those from Tarrant County, Collin County, and other surrounding areas to be a part of a major movement in the industry of tech, and that movement starts here at Per Scholas Dallas.”

To learn more about Per Scholas Dallas’ upcoming training tracks, click here!

Per Scholas is honored to be among this year’s Red Nose Day grantee partners through a matching grant partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal! In its eighth year, Red Nose Day is a beloved fundraising event by Comic Relief US to help end the cycle of child poverty and ensure a healthy, empowered future for all children and youth. Per Scholas helps change trajectories by preparing our learners, many of whom are youth or have children, to launch life-changing careers in technology by participating in our rigorous, cost-free tech skills training. 

As we train our learners to start a career in tech through IT support, cybersecurity, software engineering, and more, we prepare individuals to have a well-rounded skill set that creates economic equity and financial stability for their families. 

Per Scholas Chicago Graduate Veronica Vergara applied to Per Scholas to create her own path of opportunity that was flexible so she could be available for her daughter, if needed. Veronica’s daughter suffered from serious health problems previously, so she quit work to focus on her daughter’s health. A year and a half later, Veronica’s daughter’s condition had greatly improved, and Veronica began preparing to rejoin the workforce. Her husband worked in IT and she admired many features of his job, including its flexibility and good pay, which is why she applied to Per Scholas to launch her IT career.

Another example of how Per Scholas’s cost-free tech training has enhanced our learners’ lives and the lives of their children is through Sadaf Haroon, a Per Scholas Dallas Software Engineering graduate. Sadaf, an immigrant mother of three, was at first intimidated to resume a career in the thriving field of tech. “Per Scholas made it easier for me to learn and now I am an earning member of my family. What can be greater than that?” 

In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, more children have faced hunger, homelessness, and a growing learning gap, making those programs, funded by Red Nose Day, more crucial than ever. 

This Red Nose Day marks a return to the tradition of coming together in person to have fun, raise money, and change lives. The annual campaign’s signature Red Nose, the universal symbol for Red Nose Day, will be back and available exclusively at nearly 9,000 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations nationwide for just $1 each, with 100% of all proceeds benefiting Red Nose Day. Customers may also donate in stores via pin-pad at checkout, as well as online to receive a Digital Red Nose filter, and can show support donning a real Red Nose or virtual one!

Tune in on May 26th to NBC, which is supporting the Red Nose Day campaign across the network and through cross-portfolio programming features.