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.

Tech jobs are in high demand across all industries, according to a new report from Center for an Urban Future. Wall Street Journal’s Irene Plagianos explored the analysis and connected with Per Scholas graduate Adonis Goris to learn about his journey from pandemic-induced job loss to a thriving career in tech.

In the piece, Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala underscored our alignment with a variety of companies to tailor curriculum to meet the needs of the businesses, and create a hiring pipeline for a diverse workforce underrepresented in tech jobs, especially Black and Latinx workers. Adonis, who doesn’t have a college degree, reflected that studying at Per Scholas and starting his IT job has been a dream come true. “It’s pretty incredible that somehow in a pandemic I’m now on a career path that is more in line with my passion,” he said.

Read the full story in The Wall Street Journal.

This May, Per Scholas expanded our presence to the West Coast as we successfully launched our first cohorts in Seattle and Phoenix, bringing our campus count to 17!  This is a huge step as we work to advance economic equity through rigorous training for tech careers. With such strong tech markets and demand for talent in both cities, it was only a matter of time before Per Scholas made our mark on the west coast. Full-stack technology service provider TEKsystems is fueling these customized training tracks, with first cohorts focused on Java Development.  

Plus, this month we announced that now, you can find Per Scholas across the nation, from Seattle to New York, with an upcoming expansion to Staten Island.  Not only do we provide courses in high-demand fields, but we also partner with companies for a customized training program tailored to their individual needs to ensure our learners have access to job opportunities once they graduate.  

For over 25 years, we have studied the tech industry, recognized its growth, and responded by providing companies with skilled learners that are diverse and passionate about technology.  Per Scholas helps improve diversity in the tech industry as we expand and build equity in new communities, having already trained 14,000 diverse learners across the nation. With a graduation rate of 85%, and 80% of those graduates finding employment in tech within the first year after graduation, we are confident in our mission to diversify America’s tech workforce.

Learn more about all of our locations as we train learners coast to coast on our website.

To commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Per Scholas hosted an interactive and informative Inclusion by Intention session. Inclusion by Intention, launched in 2018, is a quarterly organization-wide initiative that aims to provide a safe, inclusive space for staff to discuss ongoing issues around race and social justice. A powerful, open panel discussion led by both national and local team leaders to envision ways the organization can best equip staff with the appropriate education, resources, and training needed to support students, alumni, and one another. 

We heard from our Senior Vice President of Development, Evelyn Chen, who opened our eyes to the Model Minority Myth, while highlighting stereotypes and barriers our AAPI colleagues face. 

Our President and CEO, Plinio Ayala, featured the story of Jimmy Nguyen, a Per Scholas Dallas graduate, in an organization-wide email.  Jimmy was able to gain knowledge and skills in technology through Per Scholas and gained the confidence to start a new career in tech.  You can learn more about Jimmy’s experience and path to his Client Service Help Desk role for Charles Schwab in his feature video.

To further honor the community this month, we encourage you to learn more about the Model Minority Myth and other cultural history to carry more understanding and knowledge beyond Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  

April 2021 marks the 2nd anniversary of Per Scholas Newark, and we are excited to celebrate this milestone by sharing some of our Newark team’s successes since we first opened our doors at 12 Lombardy Street in 2019.

While COVID-19 required a critical reimagining of what training at Per Scholas looks like, hands-on learning has continued in a remote environment. Even despite many disruptions to business as usual, we exceeded our enrollment goals in 2020, and are on track to do it again this year. We have already surpassed our initial goal of 180 learners in 2021, and we anticipate 219+ enrollees by the end of the year.

We have expanded course opportunities in Newark to include IT Support, Software Engineering, AWS re/Start, and Cybersecurity. We are strengthening and growing business relationships and building the Newark team as a result of our exponential growth. In addition to growing our team, we have established a Newark Advisory Board, which now includes four members.

We are proud of all we have accomplished in only two years, and we look forward to deepening our ties in the Newark community in the years to come. We are grateful to our partners, supporters, learners, and staff as we chart our course into the future. Certifications, jobs, and development are happening here!

Abe Mendez, Managing Director, Per Scholas New York, was featured in Crain’s New York Business “Notable in Nonprofits and Philanthropy” list. See what they had to say about Abe below, and head to Crain’s New York Business to see the entire list.

Animated by the belief that a prosperous workforce begins with equitable education access, Per Scholas gives free tech training to individuals from communities underrepresented in the technology sector. Abe Mendez, managing director of the New York chapter, is the man behind its regional strategy, fundraising and learner recruitment. Mendez’s dedication to his team truly came to light during the pandemic, when he worked to ensure staff members had the necessary equipment to work remotely and developed safety protocols to protect those who wanted to work on-site. Mendez has served as a driving force behind Per Scholas’ efforts to connect communities hit hard by Covid-19 with economic opportunities in the tech space.