Urban Strategies Council Launches TechPathways Web Resource Prepping East Bay Youth For Tech Careers
New one-stop site bridges knowledge gap on tech career options and local training opportunities
OAKLAND, Calif., Nov 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Urban Strategies Council, a leading organization alleviating East Bay poverty via data-driven research, policy innovation, and advocacy, is introducing techPathways in partnership with Raiz Labs, Digital Strategies, the East Bay Broadband Consortium, and the East Bay Economic Development Alliance. The new website, techPathways.org, which launches today, aims to bridge the knowledge gap among youth and underserved populations on tech career options and local training opportunities through an easy to use interface.
TechPathways provides a framework that demystifies tech careers as diverse as engineering, visual design, and digital marketing, especially for young people lacking regular, practical exposure to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education. "We have simplified the latest professional requirements of Bay Area companies to help youth relate their strengths to available jobs, and understand the skills they need to succeed," says Steve Spiker Director of Research and Technology at Urban Strategies Council.
The site also enables users to compare over sixty East Bay training programs where they can build skills for success, ranging from after-school programs to boot camps. The data was compiled through an opt-in survey of leading Bay Area organizations providing training for three age groups: children, teens, and young adults. The site facilitates skill exposure for all ages, but most importantly at the critical juncture before high school graduation and as early as middle school. Many of the listed training opportunities are free of charge or offer significant financial aid and scholarship opportunities.
As the city's Director of Equity and Strategic Partnerships, Jose Corona, explained, "it's partners like Urban Strategies Council we support in launching initiatives such as techPathways that actively build a more equitable future for local youth."
The web resource launches at a pivotal moment of East Bay tech sector job growth as large, publicly-traded, tech and financial companies expand their current operations, and small startups seek more affordable rental rates outside San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The East Bay tech sector currently employs nearly 61,000 workers in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, with the creation of 26,000 new jobs expected by 2022.
For more information or for companies and partners looking to get involved visit techPathways.org or call 510-463-2880.
SOURCE URBAN STRATEGIES COUNCIL
Share this article