NPower in the News: Crain's New York Business "Closing the tech-skills gap"

Closing the tech-skills gap
by Anne Fisher

Even with unemployment stubbornly high, tech-industry experts say that, nationwide, about 450,000 jobs in IT are going begging at any given moment. The reason: a shortage of job seekers with the right skills. More than 60% of small businesses are struggling to find skilled applicants, according to a new poll by the National Federation of Independent Business.

Here in the city, NPower is working on filling what some wags have called the “geek gap.” The nonprofit, which has been schooling techies at its Brooklyn headquarters for about 10 years, just opened a new center in Harlem, where an initial class of 23 disadvantaged young people (ages 18 to 25), mainly from Manhattan and the Bronx, will receive free tech training.

The 22-week curriculum includes intensive classroom work, mentoring by IT pros, internships, and the chance to earn credentials such as CompTIA A+ certifications—essential assets in any tech-job hunt.

So far, the program has an 80% graduation rate, and about 450 NPower grads have been hired over the past decade by local nonprofits, startups and universities, as well as by heavy hitters like JPMorgan Chase and Accenture. Both are major donors: Accenture, for instance, anted up $100,000 for the Harlem classroom.

“We’ve gotten great support from big companies,” said NPower Chief Executive Stephanie Cuskley, a former investment banker who took the helm two years ago. “One of our goals for 2012 is to reach out to more small businesses and startups.”

Also on Ms. Cuskley’s to-do list for the year ahead: expanding another NPower program, called the Community Corps, which matches up IT professionals willing to volunteer their skills with nonprofits that need tech help but are strapped for cash. Since the Community Corps started in November 2010, techies have donated more than 13,000 hours to about 650 nonprofits.

“The legal profession has a long, solid tradition of pro bono work,” Ms. Cuskley said. “We want to foster something similar in the IT field and bring the tech community together for the public good.”

Read more: http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/blogs/executive-inbox/2011/12/closing-the-tech-skills-gap/#ixzz1gjT1UJjb