Page 7 - Stuff Made and Built in Delaware 2020

The program, offered twice a year to upward of 20 students, is open to high school graduates without a bachelor’s degree who are between 18 and 26 years old.
“
It’s a labor of love for TechImpact, which was founded about 16 years ago to provide IT support to nonprofits around the country, says Patrick Callihan, the organization’s executive director. About a decade ago, it launched the ITWorks job training program to mentor a new generation of tech workers who needed a helping hand.
Callihan estimates that most who apply don’t have much more than a conventional knowledge of computers and technology.
“I’d say they mostly have some grit, some desire and an interest. We can help shape and mold that into a hard skillset,” he says.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Callihan says, the ITWorks program was placing upward of 90% of its students in IT jobs making at least $35,000 a year.
Most of the students are also coming from low- or moderate-income households, meaning that the training they receive through the program
can open new doors. That’s aided by ITWorks’ mentors, who are often chief information directors or directors of IT at larger companies and are paired up with a new student each class.
“The entire 16 weeks, they’re really building their network,” Callihan says, noting students create LinkedIn profiles that help them expand their connections. “It really changes the game for them.”
Filling A Growing Need
TechImpact isn’t alone in the IT space, however, as six-year-old Zip Code Wilmington also offers an in-depth, 12- week training on Java software coding. The organization also launched a data engineering and analytics program this year — which has now pivoted to online instruction following the COVID-19 pandemic — to meet a growing need.
Zip Code Executive Director Desa Burton said earlier this year that data science and analytics job openings are projected to grow by nearly 15%, with 364,000 job listings expected in 2020. Many of those jobs remain unfilled longer than other tech positions, signaling that there is a need for qualified data engineering candidates.
“Machine learning, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics
WE FIND THE REAL
TRICK IS NOT JUST GETTING THEM TURNED AROUND, BUT IT’S THAT WE STICK WITH THEM SO THAT THEY HAVE A PLACE TO GO WHEN THEY RUN INTO THE HURDLES THAT ARE INEVITABLY GOING TO COME UP.
— ANDREW MCKNIGHT,
The Challenge Program
feed on data. Not just any data, but data which has been harvested, cleaned, stored, analyzed and leveraged. The chief architects of these systems are data scientists — highly skilled mathematicians and programmers. Data scientists are
not able to do this work alone. Data scientists need data engineers and data analysts to help accomplish this work. Data engineers and data analysts help data scientists perform at peak efficiency. Without them, a critical piece of the data team is missing,” Burton said.
That need could lead to more opportunity for residents around the region.
As of April 2019, more than 90%
of students completed Zip Code’s training over a dozen cohort classes, resulting in an 87% placement rate within one year of graduation and earnings of more than $70,000 on average. In just the past few months, recent graduates have been hired at JPMorgan Chase and the investment
Photos courtesy of The Challenge Program
adviser giant Vanguard. The program doesn’t have
educational requirements, but does require applicants to pass a basic skills assessment and go through a two-part interview process. Unlike ITWorks, the Zip Code program does have a $6,000 tuition fee, but it can be reimbursed through a 26-week employment agreement with one
of Zip Code’s corporate partners. Needs-based scholarships are also available to cover the initial cost for low-income applicants.
Skills Training Beyond Tech
For those looking for a career path outside IT, two Wilmington programs can provide that: The Challenge Program and Year Up.
Andrew McKnight, executive director of the nonprofit Challenge Program, is in search of lives to change. His 25-year-old organization targets
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