Career & Technical Training

White House Expands TechHire Initiative to Grow IT Pipeline

• By Sri Ravipati
• 12/02/16

The White House today announced it would expand its TechHire initiative to connect an additional 20 communities to in-demand IT careers, including Anchorage, AL, Boston, MA, and Puerto Rico. In addition, several new partners are joining the initiative to bring new events to the 71 total TechHire communities across the country next year.

There are nearly 600,000 open IT jobs across all sectors (tech, education, healthcare, financial services, etc.) and skills training programs such as coding bootcamps are quickly expanding, according to the White House fact sheet. President Obama launched the TechHire initiative last March to build a pipeline of tech talent “that can bring new jobs to local economies, facilitate business growth and give local residents a pathway into the middle class,” rounding up support from large, private-sector companies and national organizations and pledging $100 million in federal grant funding. So far, the initiative has doubled its original goal of 20 communities – reaching 51 communities and helping train and connect more than 4,000 individuals for jobs in IT.

Building on the momentum of this success, the White House has introduced several new partnerships, including an agreement with Opportunity@Work. The nonprofit organization will help “support TechHire communities to implement, grow, amplify and sustain their TechHire initiatives locally and across the country and organize the Action Network,” a national employer network. Additionally, a new roadshow hosted in partnership with TechUP will launch next year across 27 cities, reaching an estimated 100,000 “diverse and non-traditional” tech talent and helping 1,000 companies.

For a complete list of the 71 communities, or to learn more about the initiative, visit the TechHire site.