This year marks ten years of partnership between Per Scholas and Founder’s Circle partner Google! Since 2012, this partnership has been instrumental in supporting our learners as they acquire the skills and industry credentials to launch thriving careers in technology. The partnership has also supported Per Scholas’ growth and nationwide reach in many ways.

Our work with Google has enabled Per Scholas to foster a national dialogue about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tech workforce through the support of our Diverse by Design conversation series. Google has also provided support to our marketing and recruiting efforts both through financial support from Google Nonprofit & AdWords, as well as pro bono expertise from Googlers.

Maria Medrano, Google’s Senior Director of Diversity Partnerships & External Engagement, has been an integral part of our partnership with Google, sitting on Diverse by Design’s Advisory Board and providing insight into our diversity initiatives. With support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, we’ve been able to engage over 1,800 learners to date to earn their IT Support Professional Certificate from Google, and Per Scholas alumni from across the country have enrolled in other Google Career Certificate programs, including Data Analytics, IT Automation with Python,  Project Management, User Experience Design, and which offers mentorship and professional networking opportunities with Google employees.Eleven Per Scholas alumni now work at Google, putting the skills they learned in our courses to good work as they launch their tech careers.

One Per Scholas alumni who works at Google is Stefany Santos, who was let go from her Customer Service job with Delta Airlines during the Covid pandemic. Instead of viewing it as a setback, Stefany viewed this change as an opportunity to take on a challenge and start a new career. Stefany researched New York City-based tech training programs before deciding that Per Scholas was the best fit for her.

She applied and was accepted into Per Scholas New York’s Network Support course. The  course was not easy, meeting five days a week with additional homework to complete afterward, but Stefany’s hard work and perseverance saw her through. During the course, Stefany earned her CompTIA A+ Certification and Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which she credits for preparing her for where she is now. 

Shortly after graduating from Per Scholas, Stefany was selected for a one-year IT Apprenticeship at Google. After completing the apprenticeship, Stefany was hired full-time as a Corporate Operations Engineer at Google, where she works to this day. She has since earned her CompTIA Network+ certification and plans to keep learning and developing in her technology career. 

Our Boldest Experiment Yet: Satellite

New York City is awash with talent, attracting droves from around the globe. Yet, access to the vast array of opportunities within the city remains uneven – and even inaccessible – to all. One of the biggest barriers that exist in the nation’s largest city is commutable distances between boroughs. Entire communities within New York City remain cut off from prosperity geographically, culturally, and economically. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, the accompanying economic downturn, and the present rebound have made stark some of the persistent inequities in the city, prompting calls for action from City Hall, the business community, and others to ensure New York’s recovery is centered on equity and economic mobility. 

In perhaps our boldest experiment yet, Per Scholas has launched our Satellite Model where we embed our programming with a partner organization’s physical location and harness that entity’s connections with the local community, complementary services, and staff to expand access to high-quality tech training and careers. This hybrid approach to training offers remote instruction from Per Scholas’s Bronx or Brooklyn campus to learners in East New York, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. I am so proud that for the first time in our organizational history, we are training in all five boroughs. 

Learners enrolled at a Satellite location experience the same programming and are held to the same high standards as those enrolled at Per Scholas. Staff from Per Scholas and Satellite organizations work collaboratively to provide professional development, learner support, exposure to the tech industry, and career planning and job search assistance. 

Partnering for Impact

Through the generous support of our Founder’s Circle partner Barclays, we’ve developed a report assessing the Satellite Model’s structure, promise, and early learnings. The Satellite Model is designed to tap into and uplift both the New Yorkers who are far too often overlooked as potential technology talent, as well as the rich but fragmented ecosystem of workforce organizations and programs operating in areas of the city that are less accessible geographically to Per Scholas’s campuses. 

Here were our key findings:

• The Satellite Model is broadening Per Scholas’s reach into new communities and addressing unmet demand for locally accessible tech training.
• Learners to date receive what appears to be an equal training experience.
• The Satellite Model incorporates an extensive scaffolding of capacity-building supports to set partner organizations – and the partnerships – up for success.
• A Satellite “ecosystem” is taking shape, linking Satellite partners to one another as well as to Per Scholas.
• Per Scholas and its Satellite partners are building a compelling story about collaborative outcomes and impacts.
• The Satellite Model holds promise for achieving greater efficiencies in staffing and costs in the long run but will necessitate Per Scholas staff to play significant roles in program implementation and administration for longer than anticipated. 

National Potential

“The Satellite Model allows for Per Scholas to meet the growing demand for tech training and will help more individuals launch upwardly mobile careers,” said Deborah Goldfarb, Global Head of Citizenship for Barclays. “Critically, Per Scholas will be able to further break down barriers and create access for learners across New York City and beyond.” 

The Satellite approach could have national implications in the future, beyond New York City. It might prove to be applicable in a market covering a large geographic area with sufficient tech employment opportunities dispersed throughout. If an appropriate community organization in a suburban or rural area can be identified to partner with the Per Scholas campus in a central business district, the Satellite Model is one promising strategy for increasing access to training for more prospective learners.