In May, Per Scholas had the pleasure of hosting Mayor John Cranley and Director of Community Affairs Bridget Patton at the Per Scholas Greater Cincinnati offices and classroom at CityLink. Mayor Cranley, attended a Quality Assurance Software Testing class to meet with students, give remarks on overcoming obstacles in a career and answer questions about a variety of different topics of interest about the city.

This inaugural quality assurance software testing class, a training program offered by Per Scholas in collaboration with Ingage Partners and Thrive Impact Sourcing, is designed to prepare individuals from the Greater Cincinnati region for positions as quality assurance software testers. Like all Per Scholas programs, this course is offered tuition-free to individuals who are un- or underemployed and seeking a better career path in IT.

Per Scholas is proud to announce a new training program in collaboration with Ingage Partners and Thrive Impact Sourcing designed to prepare individuals from the Greater Cincinnati region for positions as quality assurance software testers. The eight-week pilot course began April 11, at Per Scholas’ CityLink Center location with 22 participants, all drawn from the Per Scholas student recruitment process. 

Like all Per Scholas courses, the software testing program is offered free-of-charge to participants. The pilot training is generously funded by Ingage Partners and Thrive Impact Sourcing, which hopes to hire at least half the graduates immediately after completing the course.

“We believe the creation of this intensive training opportunity will provide a much needed talent pool to the Greater Cincinnati area, allowing us to engage with adults who are unemployed or in low-wage positions, and looking for a better career path” says Kelly Dolan of Ingage Partners and Thrive.  

By the end of the course, participants will learn industry-leading testing skills and techniques in a lab-based, instructor-led environment. In addition, they are given access to real-life projects and participate in field studies to learn alongside working professionals. Graduates are then given the opportunity to interview for full-time positions directly with Thrive Impact Sourcing and other corporate partners. 

“This relationship is validation that our approach works to both serve the employer community by providing a valuable talent pipeline as well as preparing motivated and curious adults for life-changing careers in technology,” affirmed Paul Cashen, Managing Director of Per Scholas Cincinnati.

Per Scholas has provided its IT Support course to more than 170 individuals from Greater Cincinnati since 2012, and this new software testing course will allow it to prepare even more individuals for life-changing careers in the IT sector. Nearly 85 percent of graduates of the IT Support training are now working in the IT industry, earning on average $30,000 in that first job, and the vast majority receiving benefits as well. The average starting salary for a software tester in Greater Cincinnati is estimated to be $35,000-40,000 a year. 

The software testing curriculum was first developed in partnership with Barclays and other industry leaders, and first launched in Per Scholas’ Bronx location in 2014. To date, 143 students have graduated and are earning on average $36,000 in initial salaries. Applications are currently being accepted for admission to the next Cincinnati based course beginning in July to individuals 18 and older who meet the standard criteria. Learn more at perscholas.org/apply.

Per Scholas
Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or in low wage jobs for life-changing careers as IT professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in six cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Cincinnati and Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; and New York, NY. To date, Per Scholas has trained over 5,000 individuals, helping them build lasting, life-changing careers in technology. For more information, visit perscholas.org, Twitter @PerScholas and Facebook.

Ingage Partners is a Management and Technology Consulting company. Located in Cincinnati, Ingage Partners provide full solution delivery consulting services to produce amazing results through a combination of skills including Software Development, Delivery Management, Product Management and User Experience Design. A purpose driven business model is what makes us different.  Ingage Partners vision is to be a thriving example of business for good in order to inspire other companies to think differently so growing our collective impact on the world. Thrive Impact Sourcing is being launched as a new business as part of the Ingage Group of companies. For more information, please visit www.ingagepartners.com

Thrive Impact Sourcing exists to reshape the socioeconomic trajectory of Cincinnati’s most disadvantaged populations living in poverty by providing sustainable careers in the field of IT.  This is accomplished by producing real business value for its clients. Thrive is a local start-up pioneering an Impact Sourcing business model located in Cincinnati’s urban core. Impact Sourcing creates high quality job opportunities for an untapped talent pool in low-employment areas transforming lives and making businesses more efficient. Thrive concentrates on a proven approach to Quality Assurance to provide functional testing services, test management, and usability testing. Data Transformation services are also a part of Thrive’s offerings. On-going training, mentorship and life coaching sets these professionals and their families on a path to Thrive. For more information, please visit www.thrivecincinnati.com

Per Scholas is proud to announce a new training program in collaboration with Ingage Partners and Thrive Impact Sourcing designed to prepare individuals from the Greater Cincinnati region for positions as quality assurance software testers. The eight-week pilot course began April 11, at Per Scholas’ CityLink Center location with 22 participants, all drawn from the Per Scholas student recruitment process. 

Like all Per Scholas courses, the software testing program is offered free-of-charge to participants. The pilot training is generously funded by Ingage Partners and Thrive Impact Sourcing, which hopes to hire at least half the graduates immediately after completing the course.

“We believe the creation of this intensive training opportunity will provide a much needed talent pool to the Greater Cincinnati area, allowing us to engage with adults who are unemployed or in low-wage positions, and looking for a better career path” says Kelly Dolan of Ingage Partners and Thrive.  

By the end of the course, participants will learn industry-leading testing skills and techniques in a lab-based, instructor-led environment. In addition, they are given access to real-life projects and participate in field studies to learn alongside working professionals. Graduates are then given the opportunity to interview for full-time positions directly with Thrive Impact Sourcing and other corporate partners. 

“This relationship is validation that our approach works to both serve the employer community by providing a valuable talent pipeline as well as preparing motivated and curious adults for life-changing careers in technology,” affirmed Paul Cashen, Managing Director of Per Scholas Cincinnati.

Per Scholas has provided its IT Support course to more than 170 individuals from Greater Cincinnati since 2012, and this new software testing course will allow it to prepare even more individuals for life-changing careers in the IT sector. Nearly 85 percent of graduates of the IT Support training are now working in the IT industry, earning on average $30,000 in that first job, and the vast majority receiving benefits as well. The average starting salary for a software tester in Greater Cincinnati is estimated to be $35,000-40,000 a year. 

The software testing curriculum was first developed in partnership with Barclays and other industry leaders, and first launched in Per Scholas’ Bronx location in 2014. To date, 143 students have graduated and are earning on average $36,000 in initial salaries. Applications are currently being accepted for admission to the next Cincinnati based course beginning in July to individuals 18 and older who meet the standard criteria. Learn more at perscholas.org/apply.

Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are unemployed or in low wage jobs for life-changing careers as IT professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in six cities across the country: Atlanta, GA; Cincinnati and Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; the National Capital Region; and New York, NY. To date, Per Scholas has trained over 5,000 individuals, helping them build lasting, life-changing careers in technology. For more information, visit perscholas.org, Twitter @PerScholas and Facebook.

Ingage Partners is a Management and Technology Consulting company. Located in Cincinnati, Ingage Partners provide full solution delivery consulting services to produce amazing results through a combination of skills including Software Development, Delivery Management, Product Management and User Experience Design. A purpose driven business model is what makes us different.  Ingage Partners vision is to be a thriving example of business for good in order to inspire other companies to think differently so growing our collective impact on the world. Thrive Impact Sourcing is being launched as a new business as part of the Ingage Group of companies. For more information, please visit www.ingagepartners.com

Thrive Impact Sourcing exists to reshape the socioeconomic trajectory of Cincinnati’s most disadvantaged populations living in poverty by providing sustainable careers in the field of IT.  This is accomplished by producing real business value for its clients. Thrive is a local start-up pioneering an Impact Sourcing business model located in Cincinnati’s urban core. Impact Sourcing creates high quality job opportunities for an untapped talent pool in low-employment areas transforming lives and making businesses more efficient. Thrive concentrates on a proven approach to Quality Assurance to provide functional testing services, test management, and usability testing. Data Transformation services are also a part of Thrive’s offerings. On-going training, mentorship and life coaching sets these professionals and their families on a path to Thrive. For more information, please visit www.thrivecincinnati.com

Reinvention is nothing new for former U.S. Army sergeant and father of four Curtis Ashby. Throughout his life, Curtis worked in multiple fields including in the military, sales, food service, elevator installation, roofing and more. But when he fell ill in his late 40s and couldn’t work, he knew he had to adapt to survive once again.

It all started one evening while Curtis was at the gym. During his workout he felt extremely short of breath. When his condition didn’t improve the next morning, his wife took him straight to the emergency room. The diagnosis was crushing: he had congestive heart failure, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

An optimist and a hard worker, Curtis hit the gym even harder after his diagnosis to get healthy; he ate better, took his medications and exercised regularly. His health improved greatly. “I recovered where most people don’t recover at all,” he shared. He was even featured in University of Cincinnati Medical Center’s newsletter for his extraordinary recovery.

Even with his improved state, his heart condition prevented Curtis from returning back to his job as a manager of a furniture store because the job required some heavy lifting. “This condition limited my mobility,” he explains. “But not having any income was not an option.”

Curtis had to find a new career plan at age 50. He visited Cincinnati Works, a local nonprofit that connects people in poverty to employment services. He took a job assessment test, and to his surprise was an 80% match for a career in technology.

Cincinnati Works, co-located with Per Scholas at the CityLink Center in downtown Cincinnati, made the connection and brought Curtis through our doors. Although passing the adult education entrance exam (TABE) was challenging for Curtis, who hadn’t been in school in over 30 years, he studied hard and passed. In August of 2015, he was accepted at Per Scholas. He says, “I was so excited about joining Per Scholas. I was using this experience to reinvent myself.”
The rigorous IT Support course was rejuvenating for Curtis. His experience in the military and other jobs primed him to work well with his classmates and instructors. At the end of the 8-week course,  all 24 students graduated—and Curtis was voted class president. “In the team setting, I didn’t want to see anyone fall behind. We are all teammates. We pulled each other along.”

Just one month after graduating from Per Scholas and getting his A+ certification, Curtis now works as an IT contractor for Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain. Curtis is enjoying his first job in tech. He works on gathering information from customers and storing it in a database to improve the store’s online shopping platform. Curtis hopes to move his way up Kroger, which offers many opportunities. “I love technology. It’s always changing. There’s always something to learn,” he says. His ultimate goal is to be a Systems Administrator one day.

Curtis worked hard to rebuild his life but he is quick to  give praise to his family, especially his wife, as the key to his success. “I give my wife all the credit. She stood by me. She held the family down while I was attending class. She encouraged me to get up and do it.”

“If I didn’t find Per Scholas, I would probably be waiting on social security. Per Scholas helped me regain my independence.”

In the future, Curtis wants to help others find Per Scholas and experience the opportunity he had. He frequently connects with other Per Scholas graduates all over the country via LinkedIn and other social media, and volunteers his time to the local Per Scholas staff to help out with admissions.

“Per Scholas is a life-changing opportunity. You can go from a job at the local gas station or grocery store to a job that will help you change the life of your family.”