Per Scholas Selected as Grant Recipient of Youth Opportunity Fund to Connect Low-Income Young Adults in New York City to Career Opportunities in Partnership with New York City Housing Authority and The Bronx Youth Center

The new $3 million Fund, led by the Citi Foundation and America’s Promise Alliance, supports innovative city programs that prepare low-income youth for future success

NEW YORK, AUGUST 25, 2015 – The Citi Foundation and America’s Promise Alliance today announced Per Scholas as a recipient of the Youth Opportunity Fund, a $3 million initiative to support city-level, innovative and scalable programs connecting youth to opportunities that increase their employability and prepare them for lifelong success.

The Youth Opportunity Fund is part of the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative, designed to support direct-service programs that empower urban youth, ages 16 to 24. A total of 12 grants will be awarded to nonprofit organizations in 10 of the largest U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Newark, St. Louis, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Per Scholas and the United Way of New York City are the only recipients of this award in New York City.

“To get ahead, young people need two things: opportunity and access,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Together, we can leverage resources and develop talent that could have a major impact on our business communities and lead to a more stable future for youth across each city. We are grateful to the Citi Foundation for its support of our Expanding NYC Service Years initiative. Their commitment is helping New York City address critical city needs through the expansion of neighborhood-based service year programs which recruit and develop a local workforce pipeline.”

Per Scholas will receive a one-year grant totaling $250,000 to expand The Career Access Network Program, a post-secondary education and career pathway option for low-income young adults to access careers in technology. Building on strong partnerships with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and The Bronx Youth Center (BYC) operated by The Door, the initiative will serve 250 young New Yorkers, helping them to launch family-sustaining careers primarily in the technology sector.

Through the program, NYCHA will refer disconnected youth to BYC. BYC will provide individualized assessment services and direct youth participants in one of three possible paths, based on the interest, aptitude, and work-readiness: 1) Per Scholas’ IT Support training program; 2) a prep course for IT Support that helps individuals gain the requisite math and English skills; and 3) alternative BYC programs to help participants finish school, attend college, and/or start a career.

Historically, Per Scholas has trained more than 5,000 individuals through its free IT job training programs from which 85% of participants graduate and 80% of graduates become employed. The average starting wages in these jobs are 400% more than pre-training incomes—and no debt to the student.

Nyaisha Lee, 21 and a graduate of Per Scholas, learned about the Per Scholas training through a NYCHA newsletter. “I know a lot of people that rushed into college because that’s what their parents wanted them to do. A lot of them dropped out or got pregnant. I already knew I wanted to be in the IT industry but I didn’t know how to get in without going to college.” Following training she landed a job at a Fortunate 500 company, Xerox, and her earnings allow her to help her family as well as advance herself.

“We are committed to help tackle the pervasive issue of youth unemployment,” said Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas. “With the support of the Citi Foundation, through the Youth Opportunity Fund grant, we are enhancing our efforts to help more local young people reach their full academic and career potential.”

The Fund supports programs that address youth unemployment through partnerships with municipal governments and collaborations across industries that are core to the economies of the Pathways to Progress cities, including IT, tech, healthcare, the service industry and environmental sustainability. Grantees will collaborate and share best practices on the most effective ways to expand and connect youth to economic opportunity in their communities.

“The future competitiveness of America’s cities hinges on the positive economic outcomes of our young people,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation. “We launched the Youth Opportunity Fund to support the innovative work of community partners who are helping low-income youth create the on-ramps that will lead towards career success.”

“We are dealing with the mixed reality of our nation’s high school graduation numbers increasing at unprecedented rates, while an estimated 5.6 million young people are not in school or employed,” said John Gomperts, president & CEO of America’s Promise. “The dozen Youth Opportunity Fund grantees are vital to connecting thousands of young people to opportunities that boost their ability to compete in today’s economy.”

In its first year, nearly 25,000 young people have been impacted by the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative, a three-year, $50 million commitment to give 100,000 low-income youth in the U.S. the opportunity to develop the workplace skills and leadership experience necessary to compete in a 21st century economy. The initiative includes national organizations such as the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Points of Light, AmeriCorps, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, iMentor and the Cities for Financial Empowerment.

The New York City Housing Authority’s mission is to increase opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social and community services. More than 400,000 New Yorkers reside in NYCHA’s 328 public housing developments across the City’s five boroughs. Another 235,000 receive subsidized rental assistance in private homes through the NYCHA-administered Section 8 Leased Housing Program.

Operated by The Door, The Bronx Youth Center (BYC) provides comprehensive programming to out-of-school, unemployed young adults and helps young people to meet their personal, educational, and professional goals. Operating since July 2002, the BYC provides career preparation activities such as career exploration, internships, advisement, and job search assistance.

To learn more about the Youth Opportunity Fund and see a full list of grantees visit: www.americaspromise.org/youthopportunityfund.

MEDIA CONTACT

Jessicah White, [email protected] // 718-772-0623

“Awesome”… “Unbelievable”… “Great synergy with CityLink.”

On July 21, technology job-training nonprofit Per Scholas celebrated the grand opening of its new location in the CityLink Center, located in west end Cincinnati. More than 60 guests attended at the Bank Street location to support this new collaboration. Guests toured the technology-training facility, met graduates of the program as well as current students, and learned about Per Scholas’ high-impact technology job training.

“You are doing good and important work here,” Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Mann remarked as a special guest speaker in the program. Others from local city agencies, corporations, and philanthropy joined–with a large presence from the local IT industry.

One feeling was unanimous: “impressed.” Courtney Hodapp, representing JPMorgan Chase, commented on how impressed she was with everything she saw and heard. A representative of Senator Rob Portman stated that she was very impressed with both the program and students.

Per Scholas training graduate Rita Knaff gave remarks at the opening. Prior to Per Scholas she worked in the airline industry for nearly 20 years before being laid off during the economic recession. “After 100 job applications, receiving rejection letter after rejection letter, I knew I needed a new plan.” She found and enrolled in Per Scholas and today works at local IT company Pomeroy as a project coordinator.

Per Scholas and CityLink share a similar mission of helping Greater Cincinnatians break the cycle of poverty. As part of the collaboration, Per Scholas students now have access to on-site childcare during their classes, financial counseling through SmartMoney, private transportation through Changing Gears, counseling with Catholic Charities, and more, that allow students to complete the job training and begin a new career without additional obstacles in the way.

“We needed a place where we can expand and grow in Cincinnati, and provide the many wraparound services that ensures our students are able to fully transform their life. CityLink welcoming us into its network allows for all of that,” said Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas.

CityLink Executive Director, Johnmark Oudersluys, is grateful to have a nationally recognized program join the CityLink collaboration, “We are extremely excited about the synergies our partnership with Per Scholas presents our clients and how it will further our respective missions.”

To date, Per Scholas has enrolled 130 residents from Greater Cincinnati, and employed graduates are already earning approximately $1.8 million dollars collectively.

The Cincinnati location of Per Scholas is part of a national network of sites launched by its New York City based headquarters. Founded in 1995 as a neighborhood-based effort to increase access to personal computers, Per Scholas was an early pioneer in bridging the digital divide for families and children in the South Bronx.

Per Scholas and CityLink plan to serve up to 80 individuals through the IT career training during the first year, with a goal of not only graduating, but placing a minimum of 80% of students in gainful field-related employment opportunities.

On July 14, Per Scholas held its annual Women in Tech Networking Event where we celebrated Per Scholas’ women grads who are diversifying the industry. Our friends, colleagues, partners alums and students joined us in our commitment to build a welcoming community for every woman technologist in New York City and beyond.

At the event, guests heard from inspiring women technologists about how they are touching the lives of other women all over New York City and beyond.

Vice President of Program Operations, Kelly Richardson, rocked it on the mic as the emcee. Special shout out to CA Technologies for sponsoring, to Kate Spade & Company Foundation and the New York Women’s Foundation for their generous support of the program, and to our host Thomson Reuters.Thanks to our panelists:Lisa Edwards, Per Scholas grad & Analyst at Barclays; Joyce Shen of Thomson Reuters; and Marianne Cocco of CA Technologies.

Per Scholas has committed to train 1,000 women for careers in technology by 2018. Since the launch of our Women in Tech program in 2013, 425 women have already graduated from Per Scholas, 89% of whom are women of color.

As our Women in Tech grads diversify the tech industry, the support helps provide the welcoming community they and every woman technologist needs as — together — we work to transform NYC’s vibrant tech ecosystem.

Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Make an Investment and donate to our 1,000 WOMEN IN TECH summer campaign. (Or, encourage a friend to donate!). Every dollar supports our shared commitment to diversifying the tech industry.
2. Volunteer to work with students on their path to a career in tech. Contact Sarah for opportunities.
3. Mentor a future woman technologist. Per Scholas is actively recruiting mentors from the technology field to encourage and advise Women in Tech students with the goal of helping them transition into the IT workforce. Contact Sarah for opportunities.
4. Hire a graduate. Pass this email along to your HR department or other key players, or contact Sarah for more information.
5. Spread the word. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep up with the feel good news. Forward this message to friends and family to share our inspiring work with more.

Cincinnati graduate Rita Knaff took the stage today at the 2015 Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) Symposium, a gathering of African American CIOs to promote more diversity in executive-level IT positions across the country.

Before Per Scholas Rita worked as a flight attendant for 19 years. When she was suddenly laid off, she didn’t know what to do with her life. Through word of mouth she found Per Scholas, and is now a Project Coordinator at IT firm Pomeroy.

BRONX, N.Y. — March 5, 2015 — Per Scholas graduate and local Bronx native Servon Lewis, 26, gave the opening speech at a national summit in Washington, D.C. on February 26 focused on creating more job and career opportunities for young people across the United States.

The event hosted by Opportunity Nation, a bipartisan coalition, convened over 1,000 attendees and featured elected officials, nonprofits, higher education institutions and businesses to discuss the major problems blocking economic, social and educational opportunity for young adults. Additional speakers included Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair of the House Republican Conference; U.S. Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez; Senator Cory Booker and others.

Servon Lewis graduated from the free IT job training program offered by Per Scholas in 2012. He was then accepted for a paid internship program offered to Per Scholas graduates by its corporate partner, Neuberger Berman, a private, employee-owned investment manager. He still works with the firm today and has received two promotions since the internship.

“We are proud Servon is on our team, where he is an important member of IT support, a critical function in the context of a firm managing $250 billion for clients globally,” said George Walker, Chairman and CEO of Neuberger Berman. “We met Servon through our support of Per Scholas—one of many community partners. What commenced as a 10-week internship was quickly extended to a nine-month assignment and became a full-time role given Servon’s deep commitment to excellence and his strong communication and technical skills. He has made our firm a better place, helping us continue to serve our clients.”

“I want to work. I want to succeed. And, you know what? I’m good at what I do!” Lewis shared with the audience as he told the story of his childhood in the Bronx Monroe housing projects and his personal journey to professional achievements driven by determination and hard work. “I’m sharing this today because we need more companies like Neuberger Berman willing to partner with more programs – like Per Scholas – to make sure that the talent which exists within our communities is being reached and the opportunity made accessible.”

Currently, young adults ages 16-24 face unemployment rates nearly twice the national average and nearly six million youth are neither in school nor working. Opportunity Nation seeks to expand economic opportunity and close the opportunity gap by amplifying the work of its coalition members and advocating policy and private sector actions. The 2015 National Opportunity Summit was hosted by Opportunity Nation and Co-convened Business Roundtable (BRT), JAG (Jobs for America’s Graduates), U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and United Way Worldwide.

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit organization offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 5,000 unemployed and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its job training programs. Servon Lewis was previously featured following a similar speech he gave at the Per Scholas 2013 ROI Corporate Dinner. For more information visit perscholas.org and Facebook.

Per Scholas National Capital Region and its local board members, Jason Green, Co-founder,SkillSmart and Charles Britt, Director STEM Education, NVCC and host partner Accenture, have convened a regional task force to focus on the regional challenges in creating a talent pipeline for the 23k+ open jobs in cyber security. With representation from workforce development, education, industry, policy makers and government, the Task Force will:

• Define and quantify job skills (i.e., determine specific skills and experiences required for cyber success)
• Develop Career pathways (i.e., demonstrate career progression opportunities in cyber)
• Establish a program clearinghouse (i.e., create toolkit to increase awareness of existing programs and resources)

The Task Force believes a good number of these open positions can be filled through skills based training and ladders of education. The Task Force is looking forward to engaging employers to determine the actual skills needed to fill these positions and validate the continual education needed to progress in cyber security careers.

In all of its markets, Per Scholas strives to meet the specific demands of regional employers through its specified IT training. It takes strong partnerships to make that happen. Per Scholas is currently working with Accenture and Ashoka on the Talent Growth Initiative to address the US Talent Gap and to identify innovations that can be scaled up for broad impact. As a result of the partnership, Accenture has been instrumental in researching internship opportunities for Per Scholas students and identifying employer opportunities for Per Scholas training tracks.

Overall, this initial meeting of the task force remained in line with the strong emphasis on the importance of all leaders working together as a team towards the creation of an evolved workforce.

This gathering grew out of a cyber security panel convened by Per Scholas in October of 2014, where a dynamic gathering of leaders from education, government, industry and workforce development evaluated and discussed the current cyber security landscape, the restrictions that cause the talent gap, alternatives for building a stronger pipeline, and considerations in creating a diverse pipeline of local talent to fill immediate and future need.

Additional info

The task force will meet face-to-face four times, with the last meeting in January of 2016. In between in person meetings, there will be four check in calls.

To learn more about how Per Scholas is working to address regional and national skills gaps, click here.

New York City approved a plan to replace a total of 7,600 outdated pay phone booths with public WiFi kiosks in all five boroughs by 2019.

LinkNYC is a first-of-its-kind communications network that will bring the fastest available free Wi-Fi to millions of New Yorkers, small businesses, and visitors. The icing on the cake? Per Scholas will partner with Control Group, who has provided internships, jobs, volunteers, and donations in the past to Per Scholas, and Titan Outdoor Communications on the project to train operations and maintenance workers to upkeep the devices throughout the city. That means good jobs for Per Scholas graduates, and the chance for them to be involved in a massive 21st Century investment to New York City.

“When Per Scholas was founded in the mid-nineties, we were on a mission to bridge the digital divide in our most disconnected communities. Bringing free high-speed wi-fi and future-forward public technology like LinkNYC to all New Yorkers addresses the divide head-on. Per Scholas is proud to support this work and help ready the workforce to roll out this exciting technology,” Angie Kamath, Executive Director of New York, expressed of the program.

What does LinkNYC mean for New York City?

• Overall, New York City will see a 125X increase in the number of available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots
• Staten Island will see a 279X increase in available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots
• Brooklyn will see a 192X increase in available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots
• The Bronx will see a 245X increase in available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots
• Queens will see a 124X increase in available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots
• Manhattan will see a 100X increase in available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots

The last decade has seen an upsurge in innovative companies and start-ups transforming many areas of New York, notably Brooklyn’s Navy Yard and Dumbo neighborhoods. These communities – once considered downtrodden – are now vital seed beds for young businesses and opportunistic entrepreneurs. This trend has positively altered the socio-economic landscape of those areas by creating countless jobs and providing a huge boost to local businesses.

Yet somehow, the same innovation renaissance that continues to redefine boroughs like Brooklyn has not made its way to the Bronx. A number of factors have played a role in this, including a lack of infrastructure in some of these areas – but it hasn’t been for lack of trying.

Until now, parts of the Bronx and other underdeveloped areas of the city have lacked any sort of technological infrastructure for growing jobs and attracting new business. Through this initiative, the Bronx will see a 245X increase in available payphone Wi-Fi hotspots.

Connectivity is a powerful tool that will give overlooked and underdeveloped parts of not only the Bronx, but other parts of New York City an invaluable boost, paving the way for innovative and tech-savvy businesses to begin transforming these neighborhoods. A surge of tech-enabled businesses will bring new, higher-wage jobs to the Bronx. Read more on Control Group, LinkNYC, and Per Scholas’ job creation Urban Development Center project.

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council awards $1.8 million to Per Scholas and its Urban Development Center (UDC) partner Doran Jones.

In 2011, New York State’s Governor Cuomo created 10 Regional Councils to develop long-term strategic plans for economic growth for their regions, as a key component of Governor Cuomo’s transformative approach to economic development. New York City’s Regional Economic Development Council’s (REDC) five-year strategic plan is focused on accelerating economic growth and job creation by building on the city’s many strengths, while ensuring that economically distressed communities and populations have greater opportunities to participate in the benefits of growth. Per Scholas is honored to be awarded funding for both its core IT-Ready training program and ground-breaking UDC project.

“We are very proud to receive this substantial investment from Governor Cuomo and the State of New York,” Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas, said in response to the award. “We applaud the Governor and the state for believing in this economic development for the city and its people. This is a job creator, one that will support high-tech growth in New York City and have a tremendous impact on this neighborhood, its residents and the city.”

“We are excited to receive this investment from the state for our expansion plans of the Urban Development Center,” said Keith Klain, CEO of Doran Jones Testing. “It’s validating our vision for the next New York tech corridor in the South Bronx.”

Per Scholas is partnering with IT consulting firm Doran Jones to bring 450 new, high-tech jobs to the heart of the South Bronx (Port Morris) through a unique and innovative partnership. The Urban Development Center (UDC) brings together Per Scholas’ expertise as an IT training provider, and Doran Jones’ expertise as a software testing center operator.

For the UDC phase 1 (currently underway), Per Scholas is training and Doran Jones will hire 150 STEP graduates. For the planned 2015 UDC phase 2 (the focus of this proposal), Per Scholas will train and Doran Jones will hire an additional 300 graduates. Training eligibility is limited to those living at or below 200% federal poverty, ensuring that these jobs will go to individuals from NYC’s most economically distressed communities. New hires will have a starting wage of $35,000 with benefits and advancement opportunities.

Through the Urban Development Center and Per Scholas’ core IT-Ready job training program, its approach ensures that the low-income New Yorkers who make up its student population are not only able to qualify for and obtain entry-level jobs in the IT industry, but that they have the training, support, and positioning to become upward mobile in their careers–an important focus of the REDC. On average, Per Scholas graduates earn a starting wage four times their average pre-training income.

WIRED Magazine published “Urban Onshoring: The Movement to Bring Tech Jobs back to the U.S.” November 11, 2014 and in it featured Per Scholas’ Urban Development Center initiative with Doran Jones alongside Majora Carter’s newest initiative StartupBox. The article written by Issie Lapowsky highlights the Per Scholas STEP course and UDC model as a viable business solution. Highlights include:

• “The Urban Development Center lends this whole urban on-shoring concept some serious street cred, primarily because of a man named Keith Klain […] he spent years as the head of global testing for Barclay’s Capital, traveling the world setting up and managing software testing operations in India and Kiev. For Klain, bringing these jobs back to the US is not just altruism. It’s business.”
• “Both operations—Startup Box and Doran Jones—paint their new operations as more than just charity projects. As offshoring becomes more and more problematic in the ever-changing tech world, they say, on-shoring is a major market opportunity. They can make outsourcing more efficient and diversify the talent pipeline in tech, in addition to bringing some much needed jobs back to the US.”
• “Here at Per Scholas, the bar is set substantially higher […] The classes are free, but to get accepted, students have to pass a lengthy entrance exam and an in-person interview. Once they pass, it’s eight weeks of hardcore—some called it “grueling”—training in different coding languages and crash courses in agile development. […] Klain calls [the earning potential in testing] ‘kind of life-changing money.’ It’s little wonder then that [the students] are willing to power through the tough days.”
• “This is probably one of the largest, if not the largest, infusions of good paying jobs in this area in a very, very long time,” says Plinio Ayala, who has been president and CEO of Per Scholas since 2003. “It could really transform this community.”
• “What if it catches on? What if tech work could unify—instead of divide—communities in urban centers, from San Francisco and New York City? Even Klain, business-minded as he is, can’t help but let his imagination run wild with the potential impact a place like this could have on a place like this.”

For the full article, see here. Learn more about enrolling in the software testing course or other courses at Per Scholas, the UDC project, make a donation, hire testers, or get involved in other ways.

The threat of cyber attack is real.

The issue of cyber security is by no means new to the industry with 1.5 million cyber attacksmonitored in the U.S. in 2013. Cyber breaches are a fact of modern life that affect small, medium, and large businesses alike.

Because of the high threat that exists in today’s world, cyber security warriors are in high demand across a wide range of sectors from finance, to government to retail to academia. In fact, the Washington metro area had more than 23,000 job postings for cyber security positions in 2013, the largest concentration in the nation.

Although substantial investments in preparing a skilled workforce are being made in the region to address this imminent growth, the truth is, our nation’s cyber security talent pipeline is broken. The growing demand is only part of the challenge faced by employers. A pipeline of abundant talent is also scarce given specific qualifications required for cyber security–like security clearance and minimum years of industry experience.

On October 8, Per Scholas brought together cyber security specialists in a conversation on the regional skills gap for entry-level cyber security positions in the National Capital Region. The panel convened with leaders from private industry, higher education, and government working in partnership to develop pathways into the cyber workforce. The panel evaluated and discussed the current cyber security landscape, the restrictions that cause the talent gap, alternatives for building a stronger pipeline, and considerations in creating a diverse pipeline of local talent to fill immediate and future need. The conversation included a strong emphasis on the importance of all leaders working together as a team towards the creation of an evolved workforce. Bridgette Gray, Managing Director for Per Scholas National Capital Region. “Often, we’re trying to resolve regional challenges in our own silos. On October 8, we began the process of breaking down these silos. To address regional issues, we must erase jurisdictional lines by bringing all players across the region to the table; there’s a place for everyone. In all of our markets, Per Scholas strives to meet the specific demands of regional employers through our IT training. It takes strong partnerships to make that happen. We are happy to take the lead in building out this task force with all of our partners.” Those interested in contributing ideas, jobs, data, funding and leadership may contact Bridgette Gray at [email protected].