When first considering a career in technology, Per Scholas Graduate Olga Sannikov always felt discouraged to enter the field. She was always interested in tech but did not pursue it academically because it was not popular for girls to do so at her school. This has been a common sentiment among women wanting to pursue a career in technology, and an area where Per Scholas is actively helping change the narrative and increase access and opportunity for women technologists nationwide. 

This month, we began training for our first cohort of women learners enrolled in our inaugural Women in Software Engineering (WISE) pre-apprenticeship program. Hosted by Per Scholas National Capital Region, this course was developed with women in mind and understanding the barriers women face entering the industry. Delivered remotely and on a modified schedule to accommodate household responsibilities, learners have access to evening and weekend office hours, tutoring, mentoring, and career development programming. 

Per Scholas was selected as one of five recipients for the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grant, presented by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty J. Walsh. 

“For too long, women have faced barriers to gaining entry into apprenticeships and nontraditional careers,” Secretary Walsh said at the grant presentation. This pioneering training offering for women in tech is also made possible with additional investments from Capital One, The Boeing Company, and Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. 

“Capital One is passionate about partnering with organizations that are meeting critical workforce development needs,” said Kerone Vatel, Head of Community Impact and Investment at Capital One. “Per Scholas is closing gaps in equity and opportunity by providing education onramps and support for underrepresented groups, including women, to pursue careers in technology.”

“We have the opportunity to learn so much from our WISE learners,” said Diane Duff, Per Scholas National Capital Region Managing Director. “We’ve received generous support to adjust our already proven model to more effectively address the unique challenges facing women who want to enter the tech industry. I’m thrilled that our first training cohort is underway.” 

On International Women’s Day, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners committed to developing the county workforce to meet a growing demand for technology jobs by voting unanimously to approve a more than $4.5 million COVID-19 recovery grant to support the new Tech Women of Color workforce training initiative at our Per Scholas Columbus campus. Additional local supporters of Tech Women of Color include The Columbus Foundation, AT&T, KeyBank, and Bank of America. 

“We are grateful to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners for providing us the opportunity to be of service to our community, and to our local partners who will come alongside us as we seek to make a transformative impact in this county,” stated Jenn Fowler Howard, Senior Director of the Tech Women of Color Alliance. “We recognize that this project will not only change the lives of the women who participate but will also build stronger families, communities, and businesses for years to come.” 

The first Tech Women of Color cohort will be an IT Fundamentals course and begin this summer. If you’re a Columbus-based business or employer interested in learning more and joining the Tech Women of Color Alliance, led by Per Scholas, please contact Jenn Fowler Howard at [email protected]. 

We had four women leaders in tech from one of our funders, Capgemini, speak on a panel for Women’s History Month as well. More than 60 women participated, and heard from powerful women leaders on topics including the importance of women in tech leadership roles, working through imposter syndrome, and owning the unique skills that women often possess – empathy, kindness, compassion, and more. We also moderated a quick Q+A session at the end of the event where individuals discussed everything from how to find what you want to specialize in tech-wise to how to balance your life as a wife, mom, and professional. 

Per Scholas is grateful to the many funders and supporters who are making intentional investments in women-centric initiatives, including the AT&T; Atalanta Project – Black Family Philanthropies; Bank of America; Boeing; Boone Family Foundation; Capital One; The Columbus Foundation; Franklin County Board of Commissioners; Goldman Sachs; Kate Spade New York Foundation; KeyBank; The Same Sky Foundation Fund, a Division of the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation; S&P Global; TEKsystems; The Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor; and more.

 

It has already been a busy year of graduations at Per Scholas, with multiple graduations from IT Support, AWS re/Start, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering courses coming to a close and many more coming up. As we look to train 4,000 learners in 2022, we are well on our way with astonishing numbers from our skilled and qualified graduates. So far, Per Scholas has graduated more than 250 learners, with over 150 graduates acquiring tech certifications.  

“The tenacity and commitment of Per Scholas learners is inspiring, and I’m thrilled for our graduates as they embark on transformational tech careers,” said Jasmine Miller, who was recently promoted to Per Scholas’s Chief Training Officer. 

Notably, our remote training cohorts had learners from New York, Cincinnati, Denver, Greater Boston, and the National Capital Region successfully graduate from our AWS re/Start course. Chubb Executive Vice President and Digital Transformation Officer Julie Dillman joined as graduation speaker.  This graduating cohort hosted over 70 graduates with an average certification rate of over 94%!  

Additionally, we graduated our first two cohorts as part of our satellite partnership.  With over 30 graduates from our innovative satellite training program, we are well on our way to training  1,000 New Yorkers this year.  In this partnership, Per Scholas is teaming up with Commonpoint Queens and with the JCC of Staten Island as Satellite partners in order to offer these trainings in Queens and Staten Island respectively. Commonpoint Queens hosted the course at its Elmhurst Employment Hub and JCC of Staten Island at its Bernikow Headquarters.  

In another Remote Training graduation, with learners from our National Capital Region, Denver, New York, Boston, Cincinnati, and North Carolina campuses, over 100 graduates completed their IT Support training to launch their thriving tech careers. Eugene Jones, Director of ITS at Comcast, spoke as a keynote speaker, encouraging graduates to always keep learning – in tech and in life. 

With support from our funders, brilliant and empowering Instructors, and a strong Learner Support Team, our learners are sure to excel in their next endeavors as they launch their IT careers.  We are eager to see how the year continues on with such a successful start as we connect individuals who have a passion for technology with thriving technology careers. 

 

Per Scholas Welcomes New Regional Advisory Board Members

Leaders from Technology, Professional Services, E-Commerce, 

Contribute to Transform America’s Tech Workforce

 

BRONX, N.Y. (February 23, 2021) – Today, leading national tech training nonprofit advancing economic equity Per Scholas welcomed nine new Advisory Board Members in three cities across the U.S. New Advisory Board Members include:

Atlanta, Georgia

• Winford Williams, AVP Technology, Insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

“I’m delighted to welcome Winford to our Per Scholas Atlanta Advisory Board. He joins a passionate and committed group of leaders working diligently to increase opportunity for future technologists right here at home,” said Sherri Sims, Per Scholas Atlanta Managing Director. 

National Capital Region

• Abenaa Addei, Account Director, Google
• Keith Barclay, Worldwide IGF Ecosystems Operation Leader, IBM
• Marialina Bello, Managing Architect, Microsoft
• Felicia Jones, Program Director, designDATA
• Heidi Richards, Managing Director, EY

Per Scholas National Capital Region Managing Director Diane Duff reflected, “Greater Washington, which stretches across Washington, D.C. and outward to suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia – continues to be recognized as one of the most prominent tech hubs on the East Coast, and it’s still growing. I’m very grateful to Abenaa, Keith, Lina, Felicia, and Heidi for contributing their time and talent to support Per Scholas’s mission to increase access and opportunity for technologists across our region.” 

New York, New York

• Erez Barkai, Director of Engineering, Wayfair
• George Okrah, Senior Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Lazard
• Silva Stewart, Digital Strategy Consultant, Accenture

“Our New York Advisory Board Members play a crucial role in supporting our strategy and growth in New York City,” said Abe Mendez, Per Scholas New York Managing Director. “I’m excited to welcome Erez, George, and Silva to the Per Scholas’s New York Advisory Board and thank them for their commitment to strengthen and diversify the tech sector.” 

To learn more about Per Scholas’s work, our National Board, and regional Advisory Boards, visit PerScholas.org. 

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national organization that has been advancing economic mobility for 25 years. Through rigorous training, professional development, and robust employer connections, we prepare individuals traditionally underrepresented in technology for high-growth careers in the industry. We partner with leading employers to build more diverse talent pools, directly connecting our graduates to new career opportunities at businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups. With campuses in 17 cities, Per Scholas has trained more than 15,000 individuals in tech skills, building bridges to careers in technology. To learn more, visit PerScholas.org.

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Another year of growth is on the horizon for Per Scholas!  November 29 marks the day applications open up for our upcoming training tracks with plenty of new additions and a larger reach for our cost-free training.  In 2022, expect to see expanded offerings of our most popular courses on more campuses.

In 2022, Per Scholas will offer our AWS re/Start, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering curriculum in more locations than ever before as we enroll more technologists in our cost-free training and continue to diversify the tech industry.  In our Dallas market, the new year will bring in more learners as we expand to train learners in Collin and Tarrant counties.  Our Per Scholas Charlotte campus is extending out to become Per Scholas North Carolina with a partnership with Wilkes Community College.  We will train 1,000 New Yorkers through 2022 throughout the five boroughs since we launched our satellite model in Staten Island and Queens.  Additionally, you can expect to see a cohort launched in our National Capital Region (NCR) campus that is designed to support women learners.  This cohort will feature 15 spots for female technologists to pursue a career in technology and launch in February 2022. Our Per Scholas NCR Managing Director Diane Duff spoke with Michaela Althouse at Technical.ly DC to discuss the cohort and how Per Scholas will advance women in technology with this training.  “A thriving wage is critical to being able to participate in the workforce,” Duff said. “I mean, particularly for women, if you are not making enough money to support your household, what are we talking about?” 

 

Stay tuned to learn more about the launch dates and locations of all of our cohorts and our admissions process by visiting our website.  Reach out to [email protected] with any questions on our upcoming training as we train more learners than ever before in 2022!

Starting in February 2022, Per Scholas will launch a women-only cohort in our National Capital Region campus.  This will be the first women-only cohort since our start over 25 years ago and is a testament to our plans to diversify the tech industry.  Per Scholas NCR Managing Director, Diane Duff, mentioned, “this training is designed with women in mind, and with the goal of understanding the barriers women face entering the industry.”

With the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grant, Per Scholas has to opportunity to offer this program to bolster women in the tech workforce.  The training will be completely remote, hold 15 spots, and held from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm with additional tutoring and professional development hours available on the weekends.  If you or someone you know are interested in this women-only training, applications open on November 29.

 Per Scholas is excited for this opportunity to raise the percentage of women in tech from beyond 30% female.  Click here to learn more about the cohort and the effect it will have on women in tech with our feature in Technical.ly DC.