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Bronx-based IT job training nonprofit, Per Scholas, Attends White House Event Focused on Serving the Long-Term Unemployed

Plinio Ayala, Per Scholas President & CEO, meets with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss strategy, scale and implementation

Bronx, N.Y. January 31, 2014 — Per Scholas, a national non-profit providing free IT job training and career support to individuals in underserved communities, will attend a White House event on Friday, January 31 convened by President Obama to discuss strategies for helping our nation’s nearly 4 million long-term unemployed get back into the labor market. President and CEO Plinio Ayala is attending to share the Per Scholas approach to serving the long-term unemployed and will sit with Vice President Biden to discuss how to strengthen skills training across the country.

Sector partnerships will be one of the strategies featured at the event as a tool to help the long-term unemployed re-train for new well-paying, family-supporting careers. These business-led partnerships bring together multiple firms within the same industry along with local colleges, training providers, community-based organizations and workforce investment boards. These employers work together to define common skill standards for hard-to-fill positions, and then partner organizations align publicly funded training and support services to prepare people for those jobs.

Mr. Ayala has been called to the White House to share the successes of Per Scholas in building such partnerships to re-employ local residents in the Information Technology industry. One of the hallmarks of the approach is that it is employer-driven with a growing list of employer partners who play an integral role in the program and graduates’ success. They include ASI System Integration, Barclays, Bloomberg, Cablevision, JPMorgan Chase, Neuberger Berman, NYSE Euronext, Pomeroy, Time Warner and many others.

A number of organizations promoting the national expansion of sector partnerships will also be in attendance, including National Skills Coalition and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships. Other event participants will include CEOs from national corporations, small- and medium-sized employers, foundations, and other local organizations working to help the long-term unemployed in a variety of ways.

Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will be joining President Obama at the event to discuss a number of new efforts by the Obama Administration to bring new attention to the long-term unemployed. Among those efforts, it is anticipated that President Obama will be announcing new support for sector partnerships and other workforce intermediaries working with the long-term unemployed, building on the successful models developed by such organizations as Per Scholas.

Per Scholas provides free IT training, career development services, and job placement support for unemployed adults who have the drive but lack the skills to succeed in the IT industry. The Creating IT Futures Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CompTIA, partnered with Per Scholas to form the IT-Ready training network and spurred the national expansion of the program. IT-Ready has served 5,000 people to date in New York, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and the National Capital Region. The network will grow to eight cities by 2016 and will train more than 1,000 individuals annually. Learn more at www.perscholas.org.

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WATCH LIVE 11:30 AM ET to 1:30 PM ET today, January 31, 2014.

MEDIA CONTACT
Jessicah White
Director of Development & Communications
718-772-0623
jwhite@perscholas.org

Virtusa Partners with Per Scholas to Provide Technology Training and Jobs to Underserved Communities

Virtusa hires two graduates of newly-created software testing education program

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., – (January 31, 2014) – Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ: VRTU), a global business consulting and IT outsourcing company that combines innovation, technology leadership and industry solutions to transform the customer experience, today announced an ongoing partnership with Per Scholas, a non-profit organization that provides technology education and job placement to underserved communities. Virtusa is an early supporter of the organization’s software testing education program (STEP) and to date, has hired two STEP graduates as full-time employees.

“We are so proud to support Per Scholas and its mission of educating underserved individuals and helping them succeed in technology,” said Brian Bernknopf, vice president, Software Quality Assurance at Virtusa. “There is currently a huge demand for software testers, and by partnering with Per Scholas, we are not only giving back to the community, but also helping to access and cultivate talent that otherwise may have gone unnoticed.”

Virtusa is an early supporter of Per Scholas’ STEP program, a free, six week, intensive lab-based, instructor-led training supported by exercises, field studies, industry experts and exposure to leading edge software testing tools. Not only has Virtusa hired two STEP graduates, Bernknopf currently mentors students and helped with the development of the STEP curriculum, which was written in partnership with Barclays and other industry professionals.

“We are proud to be partnering with Virtusa. They have engaged with us on so many levels — guest speaking to our STEP students, providing job opportunities to graduates, sponsoring events, and providing generous donations and thought leadership as we continue to grow our training program for the software testing industry,” said Angie Kamath, executive director of Per Scholas. “We spent several hours with the Virtusa team during our visit to Albany and were so impressed with their facility and most importantly, the thoughtful approach to developing and supporting their staff. We are thrilled that two of our students have landed a life-changing opportunity by working at Virtusa.”

Virtusa is currently assisting Per Scholas with its expansion in the Bronx by leveraging its success with the creation of the Albany Technology Center. Virtusa will continue to support the program, helping to develop ongoing curriculum, mentoring students, participating in classes and offering job opportunities for qualified graduates.

About Per Scholas
Per Scholas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 4,500 un- and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its IT-Ready job training and placement programs in New York City, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH. Its fourth operation will open in the Washington DC region in early 2014. The Social Impact Exchange named Per Scholas one of the top 100 nonprofits creating proven social impact in the U.S.

About Virtusa
Virtusa provides end-to-end information technology (IT) services to Global 2000 companies. These services, which include IT consulting, application maintenance, development, systems integration and managed services, leverage a unique Platforming methodology that transforms clients’ businesses through IT rationalization. Virtusa helps customers accelerate business outcomes by consolidating, rationalizing, and modernizing their core customer-facing processes into one or more core systems.

Virtusa delivers cost-effective solutions through a global delivery model, applying advanced methods such as Agile and Accelerated Solution Design to ensure that its solutions meet the clients’ requirements. As a result, its clients simultaneously reduce their IT operations cost while increasing their ability to meet changing business needs.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Massachusetts, Virtusa has operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.

© 2011 – 2014 Virtusa Corporation. All rights reserved.

Virtusa, Accelerating Business Outcomes, BPM Test Drive and Productization are registered trademarks of Virtusa Corporation. All other company and brand names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective holders.

Contact
Jessica Boardman
Greenough
(617) 275-6514
jboardman@greenough.biz

Per Scholas graduates offered five technical training positions at Barclays. Graduates will join Barclays in areas of end-user support, networking operations, and distributed technology support.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bronx, N.Y. November 27, 2013 — Per Scholas, a national non-profit providing free IT job training and career support to individuals in underserved communities, announced today that five of its graduates were offered positions in a technical training program launched by corporate partner Barclays, the major global financial services provider. Five graduates from IT-Ready, Per Scholas’ free job training program, began their positions in this two-year long program on November 18, 2013.

“Barclays has been an engaged corporate partner with Per Scholas over the past two years providing volunteers, funding, and board leadership,” said Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas. “Since 1998, more than 4,500 adults have enrolled in our flagship IT-Ready job training in New York, and Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, with graduates earning collectively more than $150,000,000. The commitment from Barclays to create opportunity for these individuals is a key contributor to this life-changing work.”

Before starting at Barclays, selected students completed the free hands-on 15-week training program provided by Per Scholas, which includes the completion of the CompTIA A+ and Network+ industry certifications. The graduates will work in areas including end-user support, networking operations, and distributed technology support within Barclays.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with Per Scholas and are thrilled to work with their graduates,” said Wayne Kunow, Regional Head of Global Technology Infrastructure and Services at Barclays. “The high-quality training the graduates receive compliments the areas within our organization where we are looking to hire. We look forward to helping the graduates become successful IT professionals.”

Per Scholas works prominently in the Bronx serving residents from all the five boroughs, and is in the process of expanding to other areas around the country.

ABOUT PER SCHOLAS

Per Scholas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 4,500 un- and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its IT-Ready job training and placement programs in New York City, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH. Its fourth operation will open in the Washington DC region in early 2014. The Social Impact Exchange recently named Per Scholas one of the top 100 nonprofits creating proven social impact in the U.S.

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Media Contact

Jessicah White
Per Scholas
718-772-0623 | jwhite@perscholas.org

QualiTest to Hire Per Scholas’ Software Testing Graduates

QualiTest is in the process of hiring graduates from Per Scholas’ first class of software testers. The organization provides free educational services and IT career support for people in underserved communities from experts in the industry, like James Bach and Paul Holland.

QualiTest, the world’s second-largest QA testing company

It’s always been a priority at QualiTest to establish test teams that are as diverse as possible.

Fairfield, CT and Bronx, NY (PRWEB) November 06, 2013

QualiTest, the world’s second largest software and QA testing company and the largest in the USA, announced today that it is in the process of hiring recent software testing graduates from Per Scholas, a national nonprofit providing free educational services and IT career support for people in underserved communities. Following a recent visit to one of Per Scholas’ campuses to give a talk and meet the students of its first software testing program, QualiTest is now looking to hire the entire graduating class.

“QualiTest is enjoying substantial growth,” said Yaron Kottler, CEO of QualiTest Group US. “We’ve been hiring 50 employees every month, and it’s a great boon to our company that we can take on a group of hand-picked individuals who’ve been trained by the likes ofJames Bach and Paul Holland. This is huge win-win – it’s a great opportunity for us as well as for the graduating testers themselves.”

Per Scholas works prominently in the Bronx serving residents from all five boroughs, and is in the process of expanding to other areas around the country. “Since 1998, more than 4,500 adults have enrolled in our flagship IT-Ready job training and placement offerings in New York, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH,” said Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas. “The graduates are working today in hundreds of corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies. We conservatively estimate their collective earnings exceed $150 million per year.”

“It’s always been a priority at QualiTest to establish test teams that are as diverse as possible,” commented Alishaa Chhabra, HR director at QualiTest USA. “Our exploratory testing approach requires testers to think of interesting ways to crash or ‘break’ the systems they test; creating an environment that welcomes individuals of all backgrounds is an important aspect of that process. We’re excited about this long term partnership with Per Scholas and look forward to their next graduating class.”

About QualiTest
QualiTest Group is America’s largest and the world’s second largest independent software QA and testing company. QualiTest is committed to improving quality by providing superior QA solutions to customers and partners worldwide while advancing QA and testing methodologies. Through their software testing professionals located either on-site or at test centers around the world, they provide a variety of testing services to a broad portfolio of clients that includes large and small organizations and global Fortune 500 companies.

About Per Scholas
Per Scholas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 4,000 un- and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its IT-Ready job training and placement programs in New York City, Cincinnati and Columbus, OH. Its fourth operation will open in the Washington, DC region in early 2014. The Social Impact Exchange recently named us one of the top 100 nonprofits creating proven social impact in the U.S.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bronx, N.Y. August 21, 2013 – Per Scholas, New York-based nonprofit providing free IT job training, opens its third location in Cincinnati, Ohio, bringing local residents the opportunity to obtain the education and skills to land jobs in the booming technology industry. The first class launches August 26, 2013 serving up to 80 students annually.

Per Scholas offers a free 2 to 3 month adult job training course providing high quality hands-on technical skills learning and professional soft skills development to unemployed or underemployed residents. The course teaches to the CompTIA A+ certification, which prepares candidates for entry-level help-desk and technical support roles. The Per Scholas model has been proven successful through independent studies conducted out of its other operations, triggering its growth into new markets like Cincinnati. Historically, 85-percent of participants graduate and obtain industry certification and 80-percent of graduates land jobs.

Its located in the Avondale community of Cincinnati at 3494 Reading Road. Current Per Scholas operations are underway in Columbus, Ohio, and New York City training nearly 500 individuals annually throughout all sites.

The Creating IT Futures Foundation (CITFF), Per Scholas’ lead funding partner for national replication, piloted its own IT training program in Cincinnati in 2012 and 2013 with excellent outcomes to date: after three pilot classes 92% of the graduates achieved IT certification, and over 75% secured employment. But because program administration is not the long-term focus of CITFF, and knowing Per Scholas’ track record and success in IT sector based training, CITFF appointed Per Scholas to take over implementation and operation of the IT-Ready program.

“This is an exciting step forward for both our organizations,” said Charles Eaton, CEO of the Creating IT Futures Foundation. “We’ve been sharing best practices in workforce training with each other for a long time. Now this partnership is a way for both organizations to test a new model of expansion so we can reach our shared goal of helping more people transform their lives through upwardly mobile IT careers.”

“After speaking with local employers like Pomeroy and Ascendum, they are ready for highly qualified, entry-level IT candidates to fill their open positions,” says Andrea Applegate, who is the Managing Director for both Per Scholas Columbus and Cincinnati. “The training offered by Per Scholas satisfies that need by quickly and effectively training job seekers for jobs with our great local businesses.”

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a 501(c)3 nonprofit offering free, high quality technology education, job training, placement and career development opportunities to people in underserved communities. Since 1998, more than 4,000 un- and underemployed adults (18+ years old) have enrolled in its flagship IT-Ready job training and placement programs in New York City and Columbus, OH. The graduates work today in hundreds of corporations, small businesses, nonprofits and government agencies. The Social Impact Exchange recently named Per Scholas one of the top 100 nonprofits creating proven social impact in the U.S.

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Media Contact
Jessicah White
Director of Development & Communications

718-772-0623 | jwhite@perscholas.org