Boulder tech academies swamped as they race to retrain workers
"Construction, food service, that's what I thought I'd be doing," Ray said. "You get that label on you" -- felon -- "and you can't get a good job anymore."
It was in jail that Ray came across an article about
He got it, and went through the four-week course and then began a paid apprenticeship with a senior Techtonic workers. Today, at 20, he is on the opposite side of the program: A mentor, gainfully employed by the company that gave him a chance.
Techtonic's program is part of a growing local push to re-train American workers for lucrative jobs in the tech space. The efforts are taking root in the shadow of a
"It's the perfect storm" for change, said
Add to that an unfriendly-to-immigrants presidential administration, and businesses may soon have no choice to but to create the workforce they need domestically through apprenticeships and training programs.
"It won't be a feel-good thing anymore," Deters said. "Companies will have to if they want to survive."
Galvanize is helping lead the way. Its code academies across the country have 2,200 alumni, and Deters said they will graduate that many or more in the coming year.
The program has a 95 percent placement rate. Upon completion of the six-month,
Galvanize and Techtonic's trainees can also help alleviate diversity concerns that have plagued the majority-white-and-male tech industry. Techtonic accepts only at-risk youth, minorities, women and military veterans. Galvanize, too, attracts a more diverse set: two recent classes in
Demand for the education is high: Techtonic has 300 applicants for its most recent class of 15 apprentices. Expansion plans are in order after the company received a
Given the appeal of such programs to solve many of the tech world's woes, many have asked: What took so long for these efforts to gain momentum? Terenzio has an answer.
The H-1B program "has made us complacent," she said. "We thought foreign workers would always be there, and no one wanted to disrupt the hiring process -- it's scary, it's new, it's different."
She and Deters said support within the local tech community is growing; although Terenzio said enthusiasm is more mild than wild. The academy has been self-funded by the business itself.
Techtonic's supporters have been, on the whole, in the government. Along with the state grant, the academy was recognized by the
Galvanize is gaining more traction in the private sector. Employees have gone on to work for companies such as Airbnb, Uber, Twitter and, locally,
"They're successful retraining people for higher paying jobs, and we support that mission," said
Galvanize has also been contracted to retrain the workforce of insurance giant Allstate. The company has hired two dozen Galvanize academy alumni and educated 20 percent of its employees globally to perform more high-tech functions. Deters takes that as a good sign that the tide is beginning to turn.
"Great companies will go to great lengths to find human capital, no matter where it is," he said. "Why not make it here?"
Techtonic's Ray, for one, is glad that more people are starting to look in his neck of the woods, at kids with a troubled past but with a strong work ethic and a desire to do more.
"For Techtonic to give me a chance... every morning I wake up and come to work, I'm grateful."
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