Tech 51 Program Brings IT Training to Residents
Move over Silicon Valley, here comes NYCHA!
On August 15, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced a pilot program that will train NYCHA residents in IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and software development. The Speaker allocated funding to NYCHA to hire an Outreach Specialist who will identify NYCHA residents to receive extensive IT training and then be placed in the tech workforce.
NYCHA’s tech partners, Coalition for Queens and Per Scholas, have committed to enrolling 35 residents each into their trainings next year. Eleven employer partners have pledged to consider candidates from the training in lieu of a college degree.
“Investment in the economic empowerment of New Yorkers yields far more than just a job; it will have a collective impact within the communities that they live and work,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito at the program’s launch event. “This pilot program will help connect NYCHA residents with access to the city’s most innovative tech companies to help them break into the tech sector.”
Currently, 62 percent of the tech sector’s employees are white, 16 percent Asian, 11 percent Hispanic, and 9 percent African American, according to the Center for an Urban Future. Speaker Mark-Viverito and Tech 51’s new program hope to recruit and support diverse technologists by putting a focus on public housing residents.
“Through the collaboration of our partners in the tech sector, we are sending a message about the continued commitment to diversity,” Speaker Mark-Viverito added at the launch event. “I want to thank Per Scholas, Coalition for Queens, NYCHA, and partners to their commitment to achieving concrete, specific benchmarks to transform New York’s workforce.”
Tech 51 will also work closely with NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability (REES) to assist with workforce development opportunities and support residents who are interested in tech careers but have previously been unable to access critical training and placement support.
NYCHA Chair & CEO Shola Olatoye said, “When we launched our NextGen NYCHA strategic plan, one of our goals was to connect residents to economic opportunities, and that includes the growing tech field. Now, with Speaker Mark-Viverito’s partnership, the NYCHA community has increased access to training and support for careers in tech, including IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and software development. We’re investing in job training and in the future of New Yorkers.”
