Per Scholas is proud to announce that we’ve joined Stand Together Foundation’s Catalyst Impact Partner Grant Program, receiving management training, access to a new Customer First Measurement approach, and up to $300,000 in grants over the next three years. This partnership will directly support the expansion of our Career Accelerator programming, which provides Per Scholas alumni with additional technical upskilling and other professional development opportunities to support their career journey toward a thriving wage.

Stand Together Foundation’s Catalyst Impact Grant Program is built on the same belief that drives our work: investing in people and communities creates lasting change. We are thrilled to partner with Stand Together Foundation through this grant program that puts people at the forefront.

We kicked off our partnership earlier this month, where Per Scholas SVP of Learner and Alumni Success Jay Dierig, Per Scholas VP of Research and Evaluation Dr. Angelica Thompson, and Per Scholas SVP of Development Evelyn Chen attended Stand Together Foundation’s Impact Partner Summit in Carlsbad, CA. During three meaningful days, we had the opportunity to connect with two dozen other nonprofits to trade ideas and inspiration and to further develop strategies for how we can support at least 80% of Per Scholas alumni to attain a thriving wage within two years of their initial job attainment.

Our Catalyst Success Manager, Nick England, also visited us at our Bronx campus, meeting with staff and hearing from current cyber security learners about their individual journeys to Per Scholas and what lies beyond. 

We are so excited to be embarking on this journey together to expand the impact of Per Scholas’ Career Accelerator, unlocking the potential we know exists in every single one of our thousands of alumni.

The Allstate Foundation, a Founder’s Circle partner of Per Scholas, has funded our tuition-free tech training programs since 2021. The Foundation proudly supports Per Scholas through its racial equity pillar and enables Per Scholas to provide rigorous IT job training and connections to employment opportunities for diverse adult learners from low-to-moderate income households across our growing 20+ training campuses.

The Allstate Foundation has taken a hands-on approach as a partner, connecting with Per Scholas learners and alumni as they become technologists. Most recently, Allstate executives in Chicago visited our Per Scholas Chicago campus to share their time, insights, and expertise with our alumni. The discussions were enlightening, and our alumni walked away with advice and inspiration for their career journeys. This interaction fostered meaningful connections between our alumni and industry leaders with invaluable industry knowledge.

Per Scholas Director of Development, Tia Abner, is currently participating in The Allstate Foundation Executive Leadership Program. “Embarking on The Allstate Foundation Executive Leadership Program has been a profound honor,” Tia reflected. “As a member of the Class of 2024, the joy of learning is boundless, and the collective wisdom shared is inspiring. I am delighted to join this dynamic community of nonprofit leaders, united in our commitment to growth, innovation, and making a lasting impact.”

The Allstate Foundation’s commitment to closing the racial opportunity gap has helped promote economic progress for thousands of technologists of color and supports historically underrepresented communities to secure thriving careers in partnership with Per Scholas.

Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala recently contributed a chapter to Next Generation Evidence: Strategies for More Equitable Social Impact. In it, he recalls Per Scholas’ overnight transition to remote courses as a result of COVID-19. For the two decades prior, Per Scholas conducted our teaching in person to mimic the workplace, which we believed contributed to our success. To keep our training going, we took this as an opportunity to see how our program and learners fared remotely. We began collecting remote participants’ feedback from both the learners and staff. This feedback allowed us to make changes in real-time; we saw what we did right and learned what to improve on. When Barrow Street Consulting conducted an analysis over the summer of 2020, the learner Net Promoter Score was a success – scoring a 67 out of a 100 (the range is -100 to 100, with a typical score in the for-profit sector ranges between a 30 and 40). The feedback from this made us realize that in-person is not the only way for us to successfully provide teaching, and we now continue to offer remote options. 

Read the rest of Plinio’s reflection on this experience here. 

This time of year is when we reflect on all who have supported and amplified the mission of Per Scholas. Beyond grants and donations, there are opportunities to support Per Scholas learners and alumni by donating your time and expertise. We are grateful for partners, including S&P Global, KKR, and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), making a difference in the personal and professional growth of our learners and alumni by volunteering their time in a variety of ways, including resume reviews, industry discussions and mock interviews. 

Recently, S&P Global’s EssentialTECH team hosted a panel discussion for Per Scholas learners in an engaging virtual event that brought together 37 learners and volunteers. S&P Global’s executives joined from New York, Virginia, Texas and even India to share details about their different pathways into tech, insights about what helped them to grow professionally and advice about what skills are most in-demand in today’s workforce.

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, KKR, a leading global investment firm, hosted Per Scholas New York Cybersecurity alumni in their office to learn more about the Cybersecurity field. KKR’s Info Security team provided an overview of how a security team is typically organized in a company, the types of roles on their team, and what skills are important to drive success in this field. Followed by small group discussions for an “ask-me-anything session,” Per Scholars alumni walked away with valuable industry knowledge. We are extremely grateful that KKR organized and hosted such a meaningful and tangible session for our alumni. 

Additionally, our partners CD&R shared their industry insights with “ask me anything” sessions, mock interviews, and resume reviews. They also gave learners a tour of their company and the tech department to showcase the types of companies they work with and the technical work done. Such involvement with our partners empowers Per Scholas learners and alumni throughout training and beyond to enter the workforce prepared with industry knowledge and connections.

We welcome corporate partners of any size to engage with our learners, support their training and professional development, and help them succeed in launching careers in tech. If you’re interested in volunteering, contact [email protected].

On December 14th, Per Scholas partner Salesforce held the New York City stop of their World Tour event. This traveling event brings together Salesforce users, partners, customers, and surrounding communities for a day of learning and discussion, and this year’s event delved into the latests in AI solutions, and its ability to drive productivity and customer satisfaction. Experts from a variety of fields weighed in on the next “Big AIdeas for Good.”

Per Scholas President and CEO, Plinio Ayala was interviewed at the event, and described how Per Scholas has partnered with Salesforce to create Per Scholas Resume Boost, powered by @Salesforce AI. This tool generates a customized resume draft based on a learner’s information and course grade, which is refined with the help of Per Scholas career coaches, expediting the resume-creation process from around 6 hours to just 30 minutes. Beyond technical training a portion of all Per Scholas courses are dedicated to professional development, and this powerful AI tool will greatly support  Per Scholas staff, allowing them to devote time to other areas and provide training to a greater number learners. This advancement will help move our organization towards our goal of graduating 10,000 learners per year.

Click to learn more about the event and watch Plinio speak!

Amazon Business hosted a case study on Per Scholas’s procurement process and featured our story on their website. Per Scholas Director of Procurement Lawrence Chang reflects on how Amazon Business has helped our processes and provided solutions to some of our challenges.

“Amazon [Business] brought us a lot more structure and a lot more control over how we were purchasing,” said Chang.

Read the full feature with Amazon Business here.

In December, Forbes highlighted Per Scholas as one of three organizations who are leading the way for apprenticeships. With technology constantly advancing and changing, employers cannot keep up with the demand for talent that are equipped to deal with these challenges. Apprenticeships are one way to bridge this talent gap. So far, Per Scholas has placed 47 apprentices at insurance company Nationwide over the last three years and over 80% of those apprentices move to full-time positions.

Read more about the future of apprenticeships at Per Scholas and beyond here!

Alanna Hughes, Head of Innovation at Per Scholas, was featured on The Strategy Gap, a podcast that explores how companies plan for, strategize, and execute initiatives as they scale, implementing processes that achieve their goals. 

In her episode, Alanna discussed how less conventional career paths can lead to innovation, and how that innovation can contribute to enhancing operational-level strategy execution. Alanna discussed her own incredible career journey, as well as the valuable skills and experiences that have enabled her to drive innovation at Per Scholas.

Listen to her full podcast episode here!

Per Scholas was excited and honored to welcome Daniel West, Vice President of Social Impact at BlackRock as the keynote speaker at our last Per Scholas New York graduation of 2023. The ceremony celebrated 33 graduates of a Cybersecurity cohort co-hosted with our satellite partner, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation. 

BlackRock has partnered with Per Scholas since 2018 to create paths to financial security by providing individuals often excluded from tech careers with skills training and access to high-growth opportunities in the tech sector. This partnership has been pivotal in many Per Scholas initiatives, including our scale to remote training during the Covid pandemic, building and expanding our training capacity and options, the launch of our newest campus in Houston, and more.

In his commencement address, Mr. West celebrated the incredible achievements, determination, hard work, and limitless future potential of each graduate, as well as the foundation that had been set within each of them for a lifetime of continuous learning. 

“This is a momentous occasion, not just for each of you individually, but for the communities you come from, and for the transformative power of education in the pursuit of a brighter future,” West said. “Your unique perspectives, informed by the tapestry of your individual stories, will contribute to innovative solutions, and foster more inclusive workplaces…You have the potential to shape the future, not only for yourselves but for those who will follow in your footsteps. Armed with your education and the foundation laid at Per Scholas, I have no doubt that each of you will indeed change the world.”