CCTS One Great Community (OGC) partner, Innovate Birmingham, recently graduated its first class of Generation IT students who were unemployed, underemployed, or working a job with low wages and little chance for growth before they applied. Of the class of 18 students, some have already landed positions in IT with the area’s biggest employers, including UAB.
The program, which provides 12 weeks of full-time intensive technical and professional training, seeks to prepare local young adults for immediate entry into the second fastest growing tech sector in the country. Birmingham, designated a TechHire city by the White House, posted more than 5,000 new IT jobs in 2014. With more than 950 unfilled IT occupations, Birmingham’s demand for new IT talent calls for innovative new models to develop the workforce. More than 30 employer partners have signed on to support the program by interviewing candidates, offering positions, providing mentorship, or delivering feedback on course material.
As reported by the Birmingham Times, at the graduation ceremony on May 5, 2017, OGC Council Member Josh Carpenter, PhD, director of External Affairs in the Office of the UAB President and principal investigator for the America’s Promise grant that helps fund the program, stated “We are energized to expand opportunities for young adults in Birmingham that benefit our growing knowledge-based economy.”
Generation IT classes, held at Innovation Depot, are provided by McKinsey Social Initiative. Applicants must be 17 to 29 years old Jefferson County residents and prepared for a rigorous interview and screening process that assesses motivation, competency, and career vision. Help us share the news about this life-changing opportunity—the next class starts on June 5.
Innovate Birmingham offers other training programs as well, including a 14-week coding bootcamp and grant-funded scholarships toward certificates and associate degrees in IT at Jefferson State and Lawson State community colleges or a bachelor’s in Computer Science or Software Engineering at UAB.