Per Scholas was featured on the PBS series “Faces of Philanthropy” in the Technology episode that originally aired in the Tri-State area on January 31.

Per Scholas is featured as one of several tech companies with a social mission. The others represented are Omaze, an innovative online auction fundraising site, Charity Miles, where runners can earn donations for their charity of choice for every mile they run, Keen / Direct Relief / Standard Bank, who speak to a collaborative response to disaster relief, and B-Tech, a tech-career-pathway high school in Queens, New York. 

The segment features President and CEO Plinio Ayala, Executive Director of Social Ventures Angie Kamath, and the New York classrooms in full action. Our signature partner Barclays also participated in the segment with a focus on graduate Michelle Harper-vanRabenswaay, the first graduate hired by Barclays, along with her supervisor.

Thank you to the ACE Foundation who provided additional footage to help us tell our story.

The full segment is available online to view. 

Ever had an interest in technology? Driver technicians are in high demand in the IT industry. In addition to a driver’s license, Net+ certification is required to get started. That’s where we come in.

Per Scholas is now offering a 10-week course for those interested in a career as Network Technicians.  In 2016, graduates of this course will be immediately recruited for nearly 100 open positions with our major telecomm employer partners.

We’ll train you for the job and get you certified. And we’ll do it for free. If you have your driver’s license and are ready to pursue this career, we’ll cover the rest.

Network Technician Specific Program Requirements

• You must have a valid Driver’s License with no more than 2 points.
• Able to work with heights and tight working conditions (i.e. closet sized spaces).
• Able to lift heavy equipment upwards of 50 pounds.
• You are interested in a career in cabling and telecommunications.

Per Scholas Admission Requirements 

• You have an interest in technology.
• You live in New York City.
• You have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
• You are legally authorized to work in the U.S.
• You can read, write and speak in English.
• You can pass a basic academic assessment test.
• You can attend classes full-time for the entire duration of the course.

To learn more and apply:  Attend an information session in person held every Monday through Friday at 9 AM at our Bronx location (804 E. 138th St – 6 local train to Cypress Avenue). If you wish to speak with someone in advance, you may email [email protected] or call 718-772-0644. 

On January 4, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) visited Per Scholas Cincinnati to show his support of Per Scholas’ work with the long-term unemployed and to discuss his priorities as Co-Chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus.

The Senator met with Per Scholas staff as well as students of the current IT Support cohort. Portman shared, “I was glad to see the important work being done at Per Scholas Cincinnati to ensure Ohioans have the skills needed to fill the jobs that are available.”

During the visit, he also toured the CityLink Center and was impressed with the integrated social services that people can find there.

As Co-Chair of the Career and Technical Education Caucus and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Portman wrote and passed an amendment that makes long-term unemployed Americans eligible for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which encourages businesses to hire hire long-term unemployed Ohioans, helping them get back on their feet. He says, “Six years after the recession was declared over, more than 2 million Americans have been unemployed 27 weeks or longer – and even that excludes the approximately 6 million Americans who say they want a job but are not counted as unemployed because they have given up searching.  This provision creates an incentive for employers to hire those folks, the very people who have the most trouble finding work.”

To view the coverage of the Senator’s visit on WLWT news, click here.

The PIMCO Foundation, the charitable arm of global investment management firm PIMCO, presented Per Scholas with the 2015 Leadership Circle Award on December 3. Recipients of this award are organizations adept at growing their impact and demonstrating ingenuity, while maintaining their quality and increasing their results.

“For 20 years, Per Scholas has been an innovator and leader in New York City. Our work shows that we will stop at nothing to create better opportunities for our students and their families. We are extremely honored to be chosen out of PIMCO’s 57 grantee partners for this award, and grateful to PIMCO for their continued support of our mission and programs,” shares Executive Director of Social Venture and Innovations, Angie Kamath.

PIMCO is a Major Partner of Per Scholas, representing multiple levels of engagement with our organization over the past four years, including funding, volunteerism and leadership. In addition to hosting two volunteer events, PIMCO has given more than $150,000 in support of Per Scholas’ commitment to diversifying the tech-talent pipeline by training 1,000 women technologists by 2018. PIMCO has supported numerous Per Scholas events, including our first annual Women in Technology event in 2014. And in 2015, Mr. Sagar Bhatt, Vice President Portfolio Manager at PIMCO, joined the New York City Advisory Board, bringing his leadership to help further the work of Per Scholas in NYC.

Douglas Hodge, Chief Executive Officer of PIMCO and President of the PIMCO Foundation, shared in the presentation of the award, “Since inception, the PIMCO Foundation has awarded nearly $22 million to our nonprofit partners that are focused on solving some of the world’s most pressing issues. And this year is no different, as we continue to invest in organizations that are engaging in our local and global communities and empowering others to better their lives.”

Thank you to the PIMCO Foundation for this honor. To learn more about how your company can support Per Scholas in many different ways, go to perscholas.org/partner.

In 2012, the New York City Workforce Funders Group convened a group of workforce development stakeholders to encourage new ideas for the field of workforce development. Shortly after that the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) contemplated a skills-training model that partnered a local community college and workforce development nonprofit. SBS convened the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and Per Scholas to provide a multi-week training in advanced computer networking. Providing anchor investment in this two-year pilot was New York Workforce Funders Group.

Recruitment for the class targeted individuals out of the workforce or who were working in low-wage jobs but had prior IT experience and/or education and needed assistance to get back into the workforce. Participants were prepared for both the CompTIA Network+ and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certifications. It was Per Scholas’ first attempt at training individuals for middle-skill jobs.

As the pilot began, Per Scholas engaged evaluation firm Economic Mobility Inc., led by an evaluator of workforce development programming, Mark Elliott, to record the findings of the program. I am pleased to say that the program did incredibly well in every category. This report could have significant influence on future Community College/Non-Profit workforce development partnership models across the nation.

Mobility’s evaluation found that:

• 87% of graduates were employed post training.
• Nearly all (97%) who found jobs were working full-time.
• Program participants were earning an average of $22.33 an hour, or the equivalent of a $46,000 annual salary.

We encourage you to read the full report and its findings. Per Scholas will utilize these findings to continue what we set out to do:  scale this program. The course is now a formal offering at Per Scholas, named Networking Engineering, and we will increase our annual enrollment from 60 to 100 students. We will also engage new partners in addition to BMCC such as Lehman College and are beginning exploring expansion to markets across the country.

Thank you to each of our funders who invested in this project and believed in our ability to innovate. Your trust in us is humbling:  New York City Workforce Funders, ACE Group, New York Community Trust, and SBS. Others behind the success of this project are the Rockefeller Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, and the Eleanor Schwartz Foundation.

It is worth attempting to put in words the impact this work has on the lives it exists to serve. Tyrell is one of those individuals. He landed a job at Bloomberg after graduating Project Scale and shared, “I love my job. My story is a true testament of how Per Scholas is changing lives.” Even with a bachelor’s degree, Tyrell struggled to secure a permanent IT position and was faced with unemployment on and off over several years. “I am so excited and happy to be working at the Bloomberg. It is a dream come true.” To learn more about Tyrell’s full journey into the tech field, go to perscholas.org/news/tyrell.

Click here for full report

Damien Howard, Per Scholas Vice President of Business Development, has been recognized for his leadership by the New York City Employment and Training Coalition. Damien will receive the Bonnie Potter Workforce Staff award at the 2015 NYCETC Opportunity Awards on November 17.

“I am truly humbled by this award. I have been fortunate enough to work with super talented individuals and mentors over the years. I truly believe that I am accepting this award on their behalf. Without their dedication to our mission and the passion that they bring to the table each day this would not have been possible,” says Damien, who has been with Per Scholas for over 13 years.

As the Vice President of Business Development, Damien oversees the teams that work with our corporate partners to place our graduates in IT jobs, engage through multi-touch volunteering opportunities, and build strategic partnerships to strengthen our curriculum and reach in New York City. Under his leadership, his team of five has placed grads in 438 jobs and worked with 227 corporate volunteer partners in 2014 alone — a 72% increase in corporate engagement in two years.

Per Scholas Executive Director of Social Ventures & Innovation Angie Kamath shared, “Per Scholas is so honored to have Damien Howard recognized. Damien leads by example and all of us, especially his direct team is thrilled to have his hard work and leadership celebrated by the community.”

From all of us at Per Scholas, congratulations, Damien!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Marty Rodgers of Accenture quoting Margaret Mead in his keynote address at the inaugural Beta Bash 1.0.

October 7, Per Scholas welcomed more than 100 guests — including alumni, partners, employers, and our biggest fans — to the Fillmore in downtown Silver Spring for the first ever Beta Bash 1.0.

Amid the networking and celebration, guests got a hands-on experience of the Per Scholas training by taking the Tech Challenge, a series of challenges developed from the Per Scholas curriculum and administered by the students walking guests through each challenge: Defeat the Board (how to reset a password account), Perfect Your Pitch (deliver your personal job interview pitch) and Connect the World (how to setup a network). Completing the challenge successfully was marked with a formal graduation token, a Per Scholas lapel pin which each student receives upon graduating from the Per Scholas training.

The live program was opened by graduate Chrystal Banks who captivated the audience with her through college, to motherhood, to Per Scholas, and now to a spot in the General Assembly web developer course on a full scholarship. She eloquently relayed the importance of supporting organizations like Per Scholas, saying, “Your being here is so powerful. Your being here matters. It creates opportunity. It changes lives.” You can read her full remarks here.

Chrystal was followed by keynote speaker Marty Rodgers, Managing Director of Accenture and Accenture Federal Services. He began, “Like Chrystal, it is my fondest hope that my children will grow up to change the world. If we bet on people like Bridgette Gray and we bet on organizations like Per Scholas, and we have courage to collaborate, we can change communities.” Marty inspired the crowd with his person story of his name, explaining that a name defines who and what you are. Per Scholas, he emphasized, means “through education”; and through education, we can achieve anything.

Marty was followed by Managing Director Bridgette Gray, who was glowing from the outpouring of support from the local community. In addition to thanking partners and supporters, Bridgette awarded two organizations, Dynamic Network Solutions (DNS) and MagView each as a Corporate Partner of the Year. Collectively the two firms have hired 20% of the NCR graduates. Accepting the award on behalf of DNS, Jason Coke shared with the crowd, “As a small business, it’s really hard to find talent. Per Scholas has changed the way we hire. We get high quality candidates on a consistent basis.”

Bridgette then announced the news of Per Scholas and partner Symantec launching a cybersecurity training track for veterans in the National Capital Region in the coming year. Symantec has made a substantial investment in the project as a part of its Cyber Career Connection (SC3) initiative earning them the Innovator of the Year which was accepted by Cheri McGuire of Symantec. Bridgette presented the award with, “Innovation is hard. It’s easy to avoid. It’s easy to say no. It’s hard to put skin in the game and say yes. It is a huge honor to recognize Symantec for saying yes to innovation.”

The program was closed by Per Scholas National Capital Region Advisory Board Chair Ed Glabus who rallied the crowd to get involved with Per Scholas in specific ways:

• Connect with Per Scholas on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Invest in our training
• Volunteer time to work with students to build their professional development
• Hire our graduates like the 50+ other companies in the NCR
• Become a thought partner and help lead Per Scholas to the next phase of growth
• Join our local advisory board to use your leadership to build the future of Per Scholas

There was undeniable enthusiasm from a strong community of champions to expand the impact of Per Scholas well into the future. We thank all of our sponsors — Symantec, Accenture, Capital One, Catholic Charities, Dynamic Network Solutions, IronBow, and MagView; our advisory board, local staff, the event team at The Event Studio, and all the people who showed up to support the work we do.

We will be posting the photos from the evening as well as the photobooth on our Facebook page by next week.

To get involved in our work, you can go to perscholas.org or contact Managing Director Bridgette Gray at [email protected].

A tech gala. No ball gown required.

Join us for a night to celebrate the vibrant tech ecosystem in the Capital Region, and Per Scholas as an innovative, effective means to building successful career paths for the future tech workforce, presented by Accenture and Symantec.

Help us further spark economic renewal and untapped talent in the National Capital Region. Join us on October 7 at Beta Bash 1.0 and change the future of our communities.

With your support we will transform communities, businesses and the local tech workforce. Purchase or your ticket and share with friends. Your ticket gets you unlimited beer and wine as well as food.

Thank you to presenting sponsors Accenture and Symantec, as well as supporting sponsors Capital One, Dynamic Network Solutions, Ironbow, Catholic Charities and MagView for their generous support.

• Celebrate with our growing tech community
• Party with innovative entrepreneurs and companies
• Enjoy amazing food and drinks
• Invest in the future of the Capital Region’s booming tech ecosystem

We are still offering Silver, Gold, and Platinum sponsorship levels. To sponsor the Beta Bash, please contact Bridgette Gray or click here for benefits for each level.

BETA BASH 1.0 HOST COMMITTEE

• Martin “Marty” Rodgers, Accenture
• Bill Varner, ManTech International
• Ed Glabus, Veterans Consortium
• Steve Jarboe, Accenture
• Charles Britt, Northern Virginia Community College
• Barbara Ebel, State of Maryland/DWDAL
• Ellie Giles, Montgomery Business Development Corporation
• Monsignor John Enzler, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Greater Washington
• Lisa Paro, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Greater Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SILVER SPRING, MD – Sept. 24, 2015 – Cybersecurity giant Symantec invests $375,000 in it’s newest Cyber Career Connection (SC3) partner, national IT workforce development organization Per Scholas in the National Capital Region, to train military veterans for careers in cybersecurity.

As the economy continues to improve and headlines tout large numbers of job creation, the reality in low-income and middle-class communities shows the economic recovery has not hit everyone. In the National Capital Region, unemployment is at 5%-8% with 10%-16% of residents below the poverty line, and 45%-59% of adults lacking post-secondary credentials (DC, MD; Opportunity Index, 2014). Yet tech positions, accessible through training and credentials, are plentiful and growing. By 2018, regional businesses will grow their non-management IT workforce from 198,851 to over 219,456 positions (CareerBuilder/EMSI Analyst, 2014). Between turnover and new job openings, there are approximately 9,800 annual openings that residents, if properly trained, could fill.

To address this gap, the Per Scholas workforce development approach is driven by the understanding of the business community and where the pain points are in hiring. That information is used to build training programs tailored to the skills that are currently in demand in information technology. Upon opening its doors in the National Capital Region, Per Scholas heard from employers eager to fill cybersecurity roles.

The National Capital Region (NCR) had more than 23,000 job postings for cybersecurity in 2013, and 2015 projections show this number grew to 33,000, the most nationally. Growing demand is only part of the challenge employers face. The pipeline of talent is also scarce given cybersecurity qualifications.

Recognized by the White House as an effective model, Per Scholas has a track record and an independent study that proves several weeks of training is sufficient for its students, who are adults unemployed or in low-wage jobs, to acquire the skills and certification needed to succeed in entry-level IT roles. In less than one year of operation, Per Scholas of the National Capital Region trained 100 technologists with a 92% graduation rate, and 86% of those graduates have already landed jobs at average starting wages upwards of $39,000 annually.

Chrystal Banks graduated from Per Scholas in late 2014. A former barista at Starbucks and mother to a 2-year-old son, Chrystal nearly completed college before the cost of school became more than she could manage on her hourly salary. When the opportunity of Per Scholas was presented to her, she jumped on it eager to make a career out of a natural knack she had with technology. Chrystal graduated and began working on the Help Desk at a local university that earned her both a stable income and stable schedule. She is soon to begin an advancement course to learn web development at General Assembly. “Coming with the basic skills Per Scholas gave me, it’s up to me to take the initiative to build on that, and I’ve done that,” Chrystal shared. “I have a job. I have a nice apartment. My son is smart, and I get to nurture that. I have resources and a stable work schedule that allows me to be there for him and support his growth.”

Through the SC3 cybersecurity program, Per Scholas will provide military veterans tuition-free training in IT support and cybersecurity. The first eight weeks of training facilitated by Per Scholas will prepare participants with the foundation of IT infrastructure and support leading to the CompTIA A+ certification. The second phase of the training will be provided in partnership with Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) and provide four additional months of training that leads to Network+, Security+ and Ethical Hacker Certifications and entry-level employment assistance into cybersecurity.

Referral partners for this program will come from Paralyzed Veterans of America, Easter Seals, the Center for Women Veterans, and the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation to ensure the training is offered to two of the most overlooked but talented groups of people. The training will be conducted at Per Scholas, 700 Roeder Road, 1st Floor, Silver Spring, MD. Any questions should be directed to Bridgette Gray at (301) 557-9200 or to [email protected].

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ABOUT

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit offering tuition-free, high-quality technology job training and career development to unemployed and underemployed individuals. Since 1998, more than 5,000 have enrolled in its job training programs. For more information, visit perscholas.org, Twitter @PerScholas and Facebook.

It’s no secret that diversity in tech is an issue of today’s workforce. A staggering 26% of the computing workforce, and only 3% of the workforce is made up of black women. IT services firm FDM Group and nonprofit tech school Per Scholas are trying to change that by building a pipeline of diverse talent to the IT world.

Kiesha Quashie, Per Scholas alumna and Consultant at FDM Group is one of many Per Scholas graduates who have transitioned from the Per Scholas training to a paid position in FDM’s Careers Program, a training-to-employment model designed to expose workers to the experience and know-how they need to work with top clients in the IT services industry.

To date, FDM Group has accepted seven graduates from the Per Scholas IT job training program.

FDM COO Sheila Flavell spearheads the company’s Women in IT initiative, and 50% of the company’s senior management team is currently female. “As a company committed to championing Women in IT and driving gender diversity in the workplace, FDM is proud to work in partnership with a number of organizations who share in this mission,” says Sheila.

Per Scholas has committed to training 1,000 women by 2018 in response to the industry figure estimating only 3% of the IT workforce are women of color. With women enrollment at Per Scholas being as low as 18% in past years, it increased to 30% in 2014 (90% of whom identify as women of color). In 2015, that figure will increase to 35%, or 200+ women.

Per Scholas graduate Keisha says working in a male-dominated field was challenging at first. But Keisha, like other Per Scholas female graduates, quickly overcame the gender barrier. She says, “Once you have the knowledge and you are able to hold your ground, you become a strong force and a pool of knowledge that attracts other to you.”

In addition to their commitment to changing the industry and helping more women pursue technology careers, both FDM and Per Scholas’ work inherently bridges the skills and experience gap as well.

FDM Group is renowned for their Careers Program, which gives individuals award-winning business and technical training in core disciplines. They then progress to represent FDM on client sites in financial services, media, retail and insurance as FDM Consultants for a minimum of two years.

“In order for Per Scholas students to find good long-term jobs, they need to learn what it’s really like to work in the field. Programs like FDM’s help augment the work we do at Per Scholas to bridge the skills and experience gap,” says Tiernan Walsh, Per Scholas Director of Corporate Staffing.

Per Scholas prepares ready-to-work individuals for careers in IT through its multi-week intensive IT courses. Training is free to participants and provided for those who are unemployed or under-employed. Outcomes are high with an 85% graduation rate and 80% of those graduates becoming employed with employer partners like FDM. In 2015, across five current locations, Per Scholas will enroll 700 students.

“We have seen through experience that many Per Scholas alumni are an excellent fit for the FDM environment,” says Ahmet Aydin, Head of Consultant Support for FDM in the US. “They are committed to furthering their technology, business, and professional skills, entering into our program with an eagerness to learn that enables them to excel in their roles as professional Consultants working onsite with our clients.”

Jose Rodriguez, Per Scholas Project Scale alumnus, works in IT Support for FDM North America. “FDM Group is a great company to work,” says Jose. “They have a professional, friendly, and welcoming environment where you can interact with all the staff members, ranging from the Sales department to the CEO.”

In 2016, FDM and Per Scholas have plans to grow their strong relationship to enable more Per Scholas grads, specifically women of color, on-ramps into tech. Ahmet says, “We believe that this is only the beginning of a very fruitful partnership, and look forward to working together with Per Scholas in the launching of successful careers in IT for years to come.”