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It was announced that Colorado will be one of 21 pilot regions part of the Obama administration’s TechHire initiative, which — among other actions — makes $100 million worth of grants available to programs that help Americans develop tech skills. The initiative is an effort to help meet a growing, countrywide demand for tech-skilled workers.
The Colorado Technology Association (CTA) and SeedPaths, a Denver-based development boot camp that pays developers to learn code, are two select key partners associated with the initiative.
The initiative comes partly in response to the country’s more than 500,000 available IT jobs, which span software development, network administration, cybersecurity and more.
Programs in Colorado and other regions, including New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, will be able to apply for grants this fall, and the government will issue awards in 2016, according to the fact sheet.
The Obama administration expects the following commitments from the pilot communities and the employers that operate within them: analyze data and become more open to non-traditional hiring through, grow programs that rapidly educate students, and ensure that local leaders are linking qualified persons to jobs through coworking spaces, networking events and more.
“It’s really a step forward for the state of Colorado to start to close the gap as it relates to high tech skills and technology related jobs and hiring,” said Erik Mitisek, CEO of the CTA and chairman of Built In Colorado.
Jeff Macco, CEO of SeedPaths, echoed Mitisek’s words.
“It’s fantastic,” Macco said. “There are thousands who are seeking a better life for themselves, a better career for themselves, and technology is a pretty good gig.”
The problem is, Macco said, that the pipeline of technologists isn’t meeting demand. Furthermore, a lot of companies want to hire only experienced developers. There’s only so many of those available.
“We have to get more people in tech and give them years of experience,” he said.
Colorado chosen for a reason
The 21 pilot communities, which offer more than 120,000 available tech jobs and 300 employer partners, were selected due to existing programs of interest. The hope is that other communities can replicate accelerated tech ed programs that prove successful.
Rep. Dan Pabon (D - Denver), the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) and Swiftpage round out the initiative’s select partners in Colorado.
Macco said any funding would be helpful for SeedPaths, as it would allow it to finance its programs. With that said, Macco notes that Colorado has already taken the actions outlined in the TechHire initiaitve.
Simply put, he said Colorado isn’t starting from square one.
“We have a number of really successful boot camps, and we’ve got a number of companies that are opening up to the idea of hiring more entry-level developers,” Macco said. “Rather than using these funds to start the fire and light it, the fire is already lit. All we’re doing now is pouring gas on top of it.”
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