Every graduate of the advanced coding bootcamp will enter into full-time employment or a paid internship upon completion of the course.

Wilmington, DE – Zip Code Wilmington, a coding bootcamp providing training in advanced computer programming techniques, announced today that all 16 members of its initial graduate class have secured offers of full-time employment, or a paid apprenticeship, that they will enter upon completion of the course, which finished on Friday. Students, who before entering the program were averaging a salary of under $25,000, will be paid an average of nearly $55,000 per year in their new jobs.

“We are proud to announce that every graduate of Zip Code Wilmington will have the opportunity to work as a software developer.” said Jim Stewart, co-founder and President of Zip Code Wilmington.  “Many will start Monday morning.”

The 12-week intensive training program enabled students to develop the skills necessary to be considered proficient at an entry-level in Java and Javascript coding languages, two of the most common forms of programming used today. Students attended class at least five days a week, and averaged about 852 hours of training each during the length of the course. While students pay an upfront cost of $2,000, the balance of the tuition is paid back by companies that accept those students for a six-month apprenticeship.

The course also received funding to supplement startup costs from several corporate partners, local foundations, and from the State of Delaware. The nonprofit organization Tech Impact manages the school and provided $2,000 scholarship opportunities to 7 students who proved they earned less than $28,000 per year prior to entering the program.

“I am very excited by the initial success of a program that shows Delaware workers are ready and able to thrive in the new economy when given the opportunity,” said Governor Jack Markell. “The program started with the goal of providing lower cost, short-term training opportunities to individuals who could demonstrate an aptitude for this type of skill, but who had not previously been given the chance to develop those skills. By tapping into that talent, we are meeting the increasing needs of our business community, and particularly of our growing financial sector, to fill coding jobs.”

Zip Code Wilmington is part of the Tech Hire initiative, an effort announced earlier this year by Markell, and recognized by the White House, to prepare workers for high-demand, well-paying jobs in IT. With the first graduation of Zip Code, students, companies involved in the initiative are seeing results as they are among the companies hiring these graduates.

Porter Schutt, co-founder and board member of Zip Code Wilmington, said “We would like to thank our corporate partners, and especially Governor Markell, for supporting Zip Code. We truly could not have brought this organization to fruition without them.”

The course graduates have a wide variety of educational backgrounds. Some entered with no formal schooling beyond high school, some with a college degree, and some with postgraduate degrees. Employers who are taking on graduates include: JP Morgan Chase, Capital One, Bank of America, Corporation Services Company, Chatham Financial, Diamond Technologies, and Schell Brothers Home Builders.

“If you’re smart, have strong logic and problem solving abilities, and want to move into one of the most promising careers available today, please apply to Zip Code Wilmington,” Co-founder Ben DuPont said of those considering looking in to the program. “Delaware companies are looking for you, and we can give you the skills you need to get these jobs.”

To learn more about the program, or to apply to be a student, visit http://www.zipcodewilmington.com/.

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State’s TechHire initiative brings together business community and training partners to give Delawareans new opportunities to fill openings in well-paying technology fields

Wilmington, DE – Building on efforts to ensure every Delawarean has access to education and training to thrive in today’s economy, Governor Markell today announced new opportunities for workers to gain certifications for Information Technology jobs. Delaware TechHire, which was previewed in the Governor’s State of the State address and applauded by the White House, creates a partnership between businesses, primarily in the financial sector, and training partners, which will allow participants to become software developers in months rather than years.

Beginning in September, Zip Code Wilmington, a new coding school that will offer its first classes in the fall, and Delaware Tech will provide intensive, accelerated education programs lasting about three months to prepare participants to earn Java certifications. The state has awarded Zip Code a $250,000 grant from its economic development funds to help cover startup costs.

“In an economy forever transformed by new technology and global competition, it’s more important than ever that we give Delawareans the best chance to acquire skills most valued in the workplace,” said Markell. “With hundreds of open IT jobs in the state, it’s clear that we must think differently about training in this field and connect more people to well-paying technology careers.”

Several of Delaware’s biggest employers, including JP Morgan Chase & Co., Capital One, Barclays, and Bank of America, have joined the Tech Hire partnership and will ensure that people who successfully complete the training program will be able to enter a paid apprenticeship, which could lead to a coding job assuming the apprentice fulfills his or her responsibilities. Entry-level coding positions are estimated by Delaware companies to pay about $55,000 per year and offer the chance the climb the professional ladder in a growing field.

Beginning in September, Zip Code and Del Tech will both offer their first 20-person classes. The TechHire companies have committed to begin hiring workers from these programs in 2015 and to hire at least 100 in 2016, with the hope that the training initiatives will be able to continue to grow to meet the increasing IT needs of the state’s business community.

Later tonight, Markell will participate in a launch ceremony for Zip Code Wilmington, where leaders of that program will provide further details about the training they will offer.

Training a 21^st Century Workforce  

Delaware’s TechHire initiative is part of a series of efforts announced in Governor Markell’s State of the State address to rethink the state’s approach to workforce training and ensure more workers gain the skills to meet the demands of key industries in the new economy.

Last month, the Governor announced 15 Pathways to Prosperity grants for high schools to implement programs that allow students to earn workplace experience and college credit in high-demand fields before they graduate.

On Thursday, he unveiled details of a program targeted to at-risk young workers who will receive training at Delaware Tech that will lead to a job at a Delaware health care provider.

Comments by Delaware Tech Hire Partners:

Del Tech- Mark Brainard, President:

“Delaware Tech has a long history of providing education and training programs that develop students’ competencies to work in many different disciplines including technology- related career fields,” said Delaware Tech President Mark Brainard.  We are pleased to be an active partner in the TechHire Initiative and are excited about the opportunities our accelerated programming academies will offer the local workforce.  Last month, with the support from a JPMorgan Chase Foundation grant, we also began offering an accelerated program in computer networking that is preparing participants to earn the CISCO Certified Network Associate credential, also needed for in-demand IT jobs in Delaware.”

“JPMorgan Chase has identified Delaware as one of its strategic worldwide technology hubs,” said Jen McDermott, CAO Talent Pipeline Programs at JP Morgan Chase & Co., and a member of group of business representatives leading the Tech Hire initiative. “As we continue to grow here in Delaware it is crucial for us to have a reliable pipeline of local tech talent. That’s why we are excited to partner with the State of Delaware and other stakeholders in the TechHire initiative.”

“There is a huge demand in Wilmington and Delaware for trained IT professionals, and we cannot afford to continue to let these jobs go unfilled,” said Jim Stewart, Chairman, Zip Code Wilmington. “Our goal is to graduate and place over 100 people per year into local companies, people who will live in our communities and help make our economy stronger.”

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President issues call-to-action for communities to follow Delaware’s lead in preparing people for technology jobs

Wilmington, DE – An initiative that will train Delawareans for hundreds of open Information Technology jobs in the state was recognized today by the Obama Administration as the President launched an effort to connect more Americans to well-paying technology jobs through new training models.

According to the White House, the TechHire initiative builds on work in communities like the State of Delaware, Louisville, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and New York City, where the public and private sectors are partnering to provide citizens with targeted short-term instruction and commit that these individuals will be recruited for jobs upon successful completion of the training.

“To help more Americans thrive, and to give businesses access to the workforce required for them to compete at home and abroad, we must think differently about how we prepare our people,” said Governor Markell. “That means better aligning traditional education programs with business needs, but it also means getting workers critical skills as quickly as possible. In some instances, two- and four-year degree programs are too time-consuming, too expensive, and unnecessary. This intense short-term model must be a part of our job training efforts.

“I’m proud Delaware has been recognized for working in innovative ways to address our shortage of IT workers, and I applaud the President and Vice President for their relentless focus on giving Americans the education and training opportunities to thrive in the new economy.”

Delaware TechHire

Delaware’s TechHire initiative is part of a series of efforts announced in Governor Markell’s State of the State address to rethink the state’s approach to workforce training and ensure more workers gain the skills to meet the demands of key industries in the new economy. Several of Delaware’s biggest employers, which collectively have thousands of unfilled tech jobs, are joining with the state to train and hire hundreds of Information Technology workers through accelerated education programs and a “coding school” launching this fall.

Based on industry needs, training will initially focus on preparing participants for jobs as entry-level Java developers and IT infrastructure support workers. Six employers, including JP Morgan Chase and Capital One, are partnering to recruit those who successfully complete the program, which will allow them to become software developers in months rather than years.

“We are seeing an economic resurgence, but the President has made clear that there is still work left to do,” the White House said in a statement on the initiative. “America has about 5 million open jobs today, more than at any point since 2001. Over half a million of those job openings are in information technology fields like software development, network administration, and cybersecurity – many of which did not even exist just a decade ago. The average salary in a job that requires information technology (IT) skills – whether in manufacturing, advertising, hospitality, or banking – is 50 percent higher than the average private-sector American job.”

The President’s TechHire initiative builds on the job-driven training review that the President asked Vice President Biden to lead in the 2013 State of the Union. Amongst other findings, the Vice President’s review identified information technology as an emerging area of growth that requires job-driven training strategies to meet business needs and provide more workers with a path to the middle class.

Key elements of the TechHire initiative:

• Over 20 regions, with over 120,000 open technology jobs and more than 300 employer partners in need of this workforce, are announcing plans to work together to new ways to recruit and place applicants based on their actual skills and to create more fast track tech training opportunities. The Administration is encouraging more communities and employers to follow in their lead with similar innovative strategies to advance these goals.
• Private sector leaders are announcing commitments to provide free training through online training slots and expanding “coding bootcamps” – which provide intensive training for well-paying jobs, often in the course of just a few months. These efforts will also better support low-income and underserved Americans, including women, minorities, and veterans across the nation.
• National organizations are committing to work with interested communities to share job and skills information, job-matching tools, and other resources to help support the growth, adoption, and creation of promising practices across the U.S.

Communities highlighted by the President today, including Delaware, are committing to three actions:

• Using data and innovative hiring practices to expand openness to non-traditional hiring: Communities are committing to work with employers to build robust data on where they have greatest needs and what skills they are looking for; communities will work with employers to build willingness to hire from both nontraditional and traditional training programs; and communities will work with employers to review -and upgrade -their recruiting and hiring practices to enable non-traditional hiring.
• Expanding models for training that prepare students in months, not years: Communities will recruit, incubate and expand accelerated tech learning programs – such as coding bootcamps, and innovative online training – which enable interested non-tech-experienced students to gain coding skills in months, not years. These new models also have potential to reaching to a broader set of students than have traditionally chosen to pursue tech careers. These new training programs can be run both independently or embedded as part of a local community college or university education offering.
• Activate local leadership to connect people to jobs with hiring on ramp programs: Communities will build local strategies and partnerships to connect people to jobs, with steps ranging from investing in and working with industry-trusted organizations, which will vouch for those who have the skills to do the job but who may lack the typical profile of degrees and career experience.

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