WASHINGTON (KRON) — San Jose’s commitment to creating pathways to better, well-paying tech jobs for its young people was acknowledged on Tuesday by the White House, which named the Silicon Valley capitol a TechHire City.
The designation now allows San Jose to compete for grants under President Obama’s TechHire initiative. Under the program, the U.S. Department of Labor will offer $100 million in grants for initiatives designed to help workers who don’t have easy access to training.
San Jose’s TechHire initiative targets young adults and long-term underemployed individuals, according to the mayor’s office. As part of the initiative the city will launch a new fast-track training program for as many as 1,000 tech-enabled middle-skills jobs through the end of 2016, city officials said.
“As a TechHire City, we are broadening prosperity by addressing the skills gap that has widened the gulf between economic opportunity and the inability of too many in our community to benefit from it,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo. “SJ TechHire focuses on providing our youth the skills they need to be successful in today’s job market, and expanding and diversifying the pool of skilled talent that Silicon Valley businesses need.”
San Jose’s workforce development agency -work2future- will lead the initiative, according to the city. “This program will take our existing partnerships with local community colleges, other training partners, and Silicon Valley employers to the next level,” said Jeff Ruster, work2future director. “We will connect our local residents with employment opportunities at the cutting edge of innovation that are in high demand today and tomorrow.”
The city says it has already secured $1.2 million from local and state sources to bolster its program with a focus on women, minorities, and young people.
Peter Ortiz is a 2014 graduate of Year Up, a San Jose TechHire training partner. “If I hadn’t participated in Year Up, I would either be in jail or dead,” said Ortiz, who says he overcame gang violence and worked as a janitor for minimum wage to support his family. Ortiz says Year Up’s intensive tech training program prepared him for an internship at eBay as an Information Security Analyst and today he isemployed by Pay Pay as a User Experience Designer.
“The U.S. Department of Labor projects a shortage of one-million trained tech workers by 2020,” said Michael Nobleza, National Director for #YesWeCode, another agency working in partnership with the city to offer training programs. “The SJ TechHire Initiative will enable forward-leaning leaders and communities, like San Jose, to meet this demand by training more job ready young adults.”
San Jose now joins San Francisco in becoming one of three Bay Area cities designated under the White House TechHire program. Oakland was also one of 10 new cities added to the list.
The TechHire announcement comes as President Obama on Tuesday hosted the first ever White House Demo Day, an event involving top innovators and startup founders from across the country. As part of the event, the White House is highlighting the accomplishments of more than 30 startup teams of women, minorities, and young people – all underrepresented in entrepreneurship.