As people are hanging up on low-wage careers and answering the call for growth in a new career path, many companies are ready to accept a new demand from skilled workers.  This New York Times article discusses how individuals are now searching for new career opportunities and training courses in order to switch gears for good.  Per Scholas is named as reporting growth and expansion due to many people wanting to train and expand their knowledge.

Click here to read the full article!

On July 1, U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ) and U.S. Representative David McKinely (WV) introduced the “Expanding Pathways to Employment” Act, legislation aimed at helping workers access good-paying jobs by supporting proven workforce development programs.

The bill, which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, was created to establish a fund to provide grants for the operation and expansion of evidence-based workforce development and post-secondary education programs.  Such programs, which Per Scholas falls under, will connect individuals to higher-paying jobs and promote economic growth in underrepresented communities.  

As the bill was introduced, Per Scholas President & CEO Plinio Ayala reflected, “If we don’t intentionally focus on an equitable recovery as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m concerned that America’s opportunity gap will only continue to grow, especially for communities of color. We have a tremendous opportunity before us, especially with this federal legislation championed by Rep. Sherrill (NJ), to ensure that America builds back better – and in an inclusive way.”

He continued, “That’s why I’m continuing to call on our elected leaders to direct resources to proven workforce development models, like ours, that are aligned with employer demand and high-growth career pathways. Now is the time to ensure a thriving wage for Americans coast to coast and in every community in between.”

To support this legislation, H.R. 4388, sign here. 

When it came to her career and future, Sara Pena might not have seemed like she would ever pursue a career in software development.  However, after the pandemic hit, Sara knew she had to make a career change that would not be impacted.  With her skills learned from Per Scholas Greater Boston and the inaugural Software Development cohort, funded in part thanks to our champion partner, Salesforce, Sara was able to change the trajectory of her career in a matter of a few short months.  

With a music background and time spent in school at Berklee College of Music, Sara began her career in sales at Bose.  After a few years there, she started working for a music software company that exposed her to technology and piqued her interest in the IT world.  Fast forward to a few years ago and Sara became a manager at a nonprofit coffee house, a position that fulfilled her passion for helping others and bringing the Boston community together.  Once COVID-19 hit, she knew she had to reassess her employment and find a career that could withstand such an event.  A friend mentioned she should look into coding, something Sara had once mentioned in passing her interest, so she began researching different boot camps.  There, she came across Per Scholas and knew she had to apply.  With no income, losing her job, and an insurmountable amount of student loans, it was time to take control of her career and pivot to technology.  On finding Per Scholas, Sara mentioned, “I came across Per Scholas and I read up on their mission and their offerings and I thought like anyone else, this can’t be real.”  

During her admissions process, Sara found the Per Scholas team to be supportive and pushing her to better herself.  She remembered a moment from her admissions interview that surprised herself as she said, “I’m going to pursue this with my whole heart. I am passionate about technology. I know if I don’t get this opportunity with Per Scholas, I am going to make something of it no matter what.” That inspiration propelled her throughout her training, even when she felt moments of doubt. Sara noted that the training was difficult and at times she considered quitting, but she always came back to the idea that, “even moments, where I thought, ‘I can’t, I don’t think this is for me, it’s just too much, it’s too hard, it’s overwhelming, am I ever going to get through this?’ and you know I think part of it was just that I remembered in my heart of hearts, this is what I wanted to do and this opportunity was given to me.  It was something that I didn’t want to put to waste.”  She didn’t put her training to waste at all as she started interviewing for a job post-graduation.  

Sara interviewed with her current employer and knew she was on the right path.  She felt a sense of community, something she found standard with software developers and at Per Scholas, and that the team she interviewed with was helpful and encouraging.  She found that her learner mindset led her to this opportunity where she got the job as a Software Developer.  Now, she attributes her experience at Per Scholas to why she was able to succeed. “You can teach someone how to code, but you cannot teach passion or drive, and that is what my Per Scholas colleagues and I have.” 

Sara was able to graduate from Per Scholas Greater Boston and pursue a career in technology with a thriving wage with her software developer knowledge.  Our software engineering training is provided to our learners free of charge in partnership with Salesforce and a generous grant from them.  Thanks to their grant, many of our learners are able to make a career change in technology like Sara Pena.

Per Scholas Phoenix’s Managing Director, Jaclyn Boyes, discusses the diversity initiatives Per Scholas is taking in Arizona and how the focus of this training program is the equity of opportunity to pursue a career in tech. “There’s a lot of overlooked talent here — Black, brown, female talent in particular — who are unemployed or underemployed, and they can have a successful career in tech,” Boyes said.

This AZ Tech Beat article mentions how companies can get more diversity in their startup, the benefits of diversifying companies now, and Jaclyn’s take on community impact with Per Scholas in Phoenix.  Jaclyn mentions how Per Scholas is impacting economic justice in the community when she mentioned, “these are really the jobs of today, the jobs that can change the course of a person’s life and their children’s life.  What we’re working on is really economic justice here.”

To learn more on this topic, read the full article here.

In this Chronicle of Philanthropy feature, our President and CEO, Plinio Ayala, discusses the impact the grant we received from The Studio @ Blue Meridian and how it will help us close financial equity gaps throughout America.  The grant, which Per Scholas was awarded earlier this year, amounted to $8 million and will help us as an established nonprofit organization grow to impact over 3,000 learners this year to 50,000 learners annually by 2035.   “We’re changing the face of technology,” Plinio stated.

To read more, click here!

In June, Per Scholas made waves and became a greater source of technical training and career development through several important partnerships, recognitions, and collaborations.  With such opportunities to grow and be recognized for the work we are doing to connect skilled individuals that were previously underrepresented in the tech community, our reach is set to grow in the coming months and years. 

We’re humbled by growth capital investment from The Studio @ Blue Meridian, an initiative by Blue Meridian Partners, which provides social sector organizations flexible resources so we can test, iterate, and refine our model in order to accelerate readiness to significantly scale. Blue Meridian joins Lever for Change and other critical supporters in powering Per Scholas’ growth to 10,000 learners per year by 2025.

With our Champion Partner, TEKsystems, we graduated our first in-person training since the pandemic began! Learners in New York completed a new customized Low Voltage Technician training program developed specifically for TEKsystems’ career opportunities.  We also hosted graduations in Detroit, Chicago, Boston, and Pittsburgh, resulting in over 75 trained Java Developers and Desktop Support skilled workers, ready for full-time employment. 

Per Scholas was named a talent developer by OneTen, a coalition of leading executives who are working to change the approach to recruiting, hiring, advancing and promoting talent to put skills first. Our mission to advance economic equity through rigorous training for tech careers and connecting skilled talent to leading businesses goes hand-in-hand with OneTen’s vision to upskill, hire, and advance one million Black Americans over the next 10 years. “We look forward to having Per Scholas join us as an endorsed talent developer to support us in our mission to hire and advance one million Black talent in the next ten years,” said Maurice Jones, Chief Executive Officer of OneTen. “This effort will require a high functioning, multi-disciplinary coalition from corporate America, talent developers, Black talent, talent supports, and others, and it is crucial we have high quality partners like Per Scholas on that team. We are grateful for the work they have already done and are excited to partner with them going forward.”

In June, we also celebrated the launch of a new New York Satellite Partnership Initiative, removing barriers to better train learners across New York City.  Per Scholas New York Managing Director Abe Mendez joined Staten Island Borough President James Oddo to announce this exciting expansion, which will begin to train Staten Islanders in-person through a partnership with the Staten Island Jewish Community Center this fall. 

We are proud to again receive a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, recognizing our organization’s commitment to industry best practices. We are also honored to be awarded Guidestar‘s Platinum Seal of Transparency for nonprofits, a recognition we are extremely grateful to receive.  These awards and recognitions enable us to build trust with our partners and learners.  Because of this trust, we are confident we will be successful in continuing to train and upskill underrepresented individuals for thriving careers in America’s tech workforce, achieving our goal of providing free tech training to more than 3,000 learners this year and growing to 10,000 learners annually by 2025.

Here’s a recap of Per Scholas in the news for June!  This month, we were featured in the press with articles over Juneteenth, our impact in the New York job market, and featuring our learners and graduates.  To read all of our features, be sure to check out our links below!

• One story in Crain’s New York featured our EVP, Kenneth Walker, with an opinion piece about diversity in the workforce in Corporate America.  He challenges businesses and organizations to use their resources to diversify their workforce and stated, “companies should be turning to DEI consulting firms to better understand how bias plays out in their workplace so that they can build in processes that eliminate hiring biases that may be preventing diverse talent from joining their teams.” 
• Another article in Crains’ New York mentioned one of our learners as Per Scholas aims to lower New York’s unemployment rate through tech training.  
• Our New York recent exposure didn’t stop there. We were featured in the New York Times, where it was discussed that the comprehensive training approach has been refined at successful nonprofits, such as Per Scholas, that have spent decades dedicated to lifting people into the middle class. 
• Lastly, in Dallas, we were named as a finalist in D CEO’s Nonprofit and Citizenship Awards for Outstanding Innovation in Nonprofits! As we train individuals in technology, innovation is essential, so this nomination and announcement of us as finalists is monumental.  

In the last year, there has been a major shift in focus on diversity in the workforce among Corporate America. With so many job opportunities coming out of the pandemic, it’s time to turn talk into action; something our Executive Vice President, Diversity and Operational Excellence, Kenneth Walker, discussed in his Crain’s New York Op Ed. “Companies should be turning to DEI consulting firms to better understand how bias plays out in their workplace so that they can build in processes that eliminate hiring biases that may be preventing diverse talent from joining their teams,” Ken reflects. “They can also participate in corporate programs like Diverse by Design to get the resources they need to recruit, retain, and cultivate diverse talent with intention.”

To read his article in full, click here.

Per Scholas has collaborated with Staten Island for our Satellite Partnership Initiative to better serve our New York community with a Staten Island site.  Per Scholas New York Managing Director Abe Mendez met with Borough President James Oddo to announce this exciting expansion news that is set to begin this fall at the Jewish Community Center.

With a fifth of New York’s open jobs being in technology, it is fitting that we begin to target the Staten Island community with our growth.  On our collaboration, Oddo said, “This is a world-class entity that is doing this training and job placement. This is the best in this genre. And it’s been doing great things in the other four boroughs. We’re essentially starting the relationship between Staten Island and Per Scholas, and in the fall bringing them to a home on Staten Island, which will be the JCC.”

Click here to learn more about this collaboration.

Filling jobs in the current market has shown to take more than direct hard skills.  Job applicants are finding that in order to land a position amid the post-pandemic job market, they need to focus on career development as well.  At Per Scholas, professional development is part of all of our training in addition to our free technical training tracks so our learners are knowledgeable in the field and have professional skills such as resume writing, interview tips, and professional connections.

Between upskilling and providing mentorship and coaching once our learners graduate, Per Scholas graduates are prepared for a career in technology with no end for growth in sight.  As stated in the New York Times article, the comprehensive training approach has been refined at successful nonprofits that have spent decades dedicated to lifting people into the middle class.

Read the full story in the New York Times here.