What Does the New $100 Million TechHire Grant Competition Mean for the Economy?
A team consisting of top US government officials has announced plans to broaden the President’s TechHire initiative, that is aimed at affording young Americans the opportunity to train and get employed into well-paying tech jobs. The initiative was unveiled by the Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, White House Cabinet Secretary, Broderick Johnson and the US Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith. The event took place on November 17, 2015 in Baltimore, MD. The choice of Baltimore this time around was crucial, because the city’s economy has been underrepresented in the tech sector for many years.
The TechHire initiative will ensure all Americans, specifically the youth
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In mid November, the administration announced it was launching the fourth round of DOL’s Training to Work grant competition. The award includes about 14 grants, which are all designated to help fast track the path to accessing tech sector jobs and other high growth jobs for individuals aged 18 and older, who have left the correctional facilities.
This initiative also aims to offer a well-coordinated set of customized services, including mentoring, case management, job placement training, education and post-employment services. The targeted areas will be the Promise Zones or areas with high levels of crime and poverty as defined by the initiators of the program.
Program summary
The primary objective of the TechHire initiative is to use the tech sector and other high value occupations as a spring board to bring the long forgotten segment of the population into the economic fold. Since its initial announcement early this year, the TechHire initiative has already attracted various communities across the country. The partnering employer’s have agreed to create new training opportunities and apply new recruitment and hiring strategies based on the candidate’s