Since the March 2015 launch, the White House’s TechHire initiative has inspired community movements to help fill tech jobs with non-traditional talent. On December 21, San Diego became the latest community to join the TechHire initiative.
The news was announced at the White House Summit on Building the Tech Workforce of Tomorrow where over 100 talented technologists, innovators and community leaders, including SDWP Vice President and Chief Program Officer Andy Hall, gathered to celebrate the success of TechHire to date, share best practices from some of the TechHire cities and plan for the future of TechHire.
A White House blog post on cybersecurity and TechHire released the same day helped welcome San Diego by highlighting some of the great work already happening in the region.
“San Diegans should be the first in line for good-paying jobs in our rapidly-growing tech sector and the City is making it easier than ever for people to learn the skills they need to qualify for these rewarding careers,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “This recognition will give us the opportunity to expand these efforts to train our local workforce to compete for the high-tech jobs of the future.”
Through the TechHire initiative, the City of San Diego, SDWP and its partners are looking to help more than 1,000 young adults — including 150 veterans — begin their careers in coding and cyber security.
“Talent is universal, but opportunity is not,” says Hall. “We are excited to join this collaborative of leading thinkers, funders and businesses to create more talent, access and diversity in San Diego’s tech world.”