Platform by Per Scholas

Platform by Per Scholas, a series of employer-customized training tracks, puts students in direct hiring pipelines with technology employers.

64% of U.S. Technology leaders report skills shortages in their organizations (Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey, 2017). This trend is only expected to worsen as automation accelerates the shift in required workforce skills and will likely force 75 million to 375 million workers worldwide to find a new line of work. Technological skills in particular represent the strongest growth in workforce skill demand (McKinsey Global Institute, 2017). This further compounds workforce issues already affecting overlooked communities, including racial and ethnic minorities and the poor, whose lack of skills and educational credentials contribute to their low employment and earnings and inhibits their ability to advance in the labor market (Holzer, 2009).

For 23 years, Per Scholas, has been addressing the technology skills gap between business needs and overlooked talent by providing solutions-based technology training at no-cost to students. Students receive tuition-free hands-on training, career development resources and interview opportunities with employer partners to help transform lives. Our market-driven approach to workforce development has opened doors to transformative careers in technology for more than 7,500 individuals around the country with an average post-training wage increase of 200%.

Per Scholas’ proposed solution, Platform by Per Scholas, leverages decades of experience in technology workforce development to provide a new line of customized training opportunities developed in partnership with employers. This private/nonprofit collaboration enables the design of job-specific curricula for upskilling and hiring unemployed and underemployed individuals within real-time hiring demands. Per Scholas offers in-depth expertise both in training and coaching individuals to achieve successful careers in technology. This 23-year proven track record in addition to two randomized control trials proving the efficacy of the Per Scholas model is what sets our organization and solution apart from other technology workforce development models. New course offerings within Platform are further expanding training access to link candidates directly to careers in tech. Per Scholas doesn’t just operate in its own space, it works in lateral partnerships to build skills training that doesn’t just get people a job, it sets them up for careers. This model will strengthen the communities Per Scholas serves and offer each business partner a reliable talent pipeline of technicians who are trained to their specifications. 

Platform by Per Scholas uses rigorous curriculum covering a high volume of different technologies that are valuable to students and employers. Students are prepared for in-demand jobs that exist today and in the process develop a life-long learning agility that allow them to adapt and learn new technology quickly, which is crucial to surviving the world’s constantly evolving digital economy. By supporting employer demand and strengthening communities, this is a scalable model that can be used across industries and markets.

Per Scholas provides 100% cost-free technology workforce development program for individuals from any background. As a non-profit with programs funded by traditional philanthropic efforts, all profit accumulated through Platform by Per Scholas supports Per Scholas’ model and thus go directly back into the community to upskill and train even more individuals across the country.

Platform by Per Scholas works with employers to deliver customized on-demand technology training tracks to upskill motivated unemployed and underemployed individuals and address employer talent pipeline issues. Working hand and hand with employers’ technical and hiring teams, Per Scholas is able to design market driven curriculum for immediate talent demands. Platform by Per Scholas increases opportunity for overlooked communities while addressing the talent gap for employers. It is designed to empower people to become gainfully employed in technology while also changing their mind and skills set. Technology evolves rapidly and developing learning agility is invaluable to the future workforce.

Platform by Per Scholas provides no-cost technology training in both technical and soft skills. The technical training improves students knowledge and, depending on the course, provides hands-on experience in:

• IT business: Agile, Scrum, Jira, ITIL, ITSM, STLC, SDLC and Coding Practices

• Object Oriented Programing: Java, JSP/Servlets, Spring MVC, Maven, Eclipse IDE, JDBC, C#.Net, ASP.Net MVC, ADO.Net, VisualStudio.Net IDE

• Automation testing: Selenium

• Databases: SQL, Oracle DB, MySql DB, Microsoft Sql Server DB, Excel (ODBC)

• Data Engineering: Shell Scripting, Data Modeling and Warehousing, Hadoop, MapReduce, Data Transfer, (Sqoop), Pig, Hive

• Security: Networking and Security fundamentals, JUnit, SonarQube

Over the next 12 months, the goal is to demonstrate efficacy of Platform by Per Scholas’ model for solving pipeline talent issues within the IT field. It is critical Per Scholas proves this is a viable solution to demonstrate to corporations that a nonprofit with the historical context, and community networks can fulfill previously unmet hiring demands.This means ensuring students are adequately being upskilled and thus are able to obtain higher-paying technology jobs quickly after completing the 6 to 12 week program.

Per Scholas’ goal is to expand Platform’s client base and course offerings to serve as many individuals as possible. By increasing the number of corporate clients in New York and North Texas, as well as scaling to new markets, Per Scholas will offer direct hiring pipelines for businesses and communities in need. Every Platform student will increase their earning potential, improve their career trajectories and expand their professional networks.

Per Scholas’ evidence-based model’s track record for success, ability to quickly adjust to market demands and supply businesses with talent from overlooked communities has built a substantial reputation in the talent development community that has attracted the attention of major technology corporations. All of this is extremely attractive to corporations, and Platform by Per Scholas’ successful employer partnership with Cognizant, a fortune 200 IT consulting firm, demonstrates that employers recognize the success. Proving Platform’s agility to develop curriculum, attract talent and build a talent pipeline for Cognizant will drive major corporations to partner with us in the future.

Since launching in July 2017, Platform by Per Scholas has enrolled 377 individuals in New York and Dallas. Per Scholas’ students are incredibly diverse including people of color and women from a wide range of educational backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. In fact, 47% of Dallas’ classes have been filled by women. By integrating real-world experiences into the curriculum, students are given hands-on, skill-based and in-demand training to upskill their existing technical knowledge and bridge the gap between ‘practice and theory’. “Platform was teaching new information that opened the door for my career.” - Greg Finnell, Platform Alumnus, Technician, Southwest Airlines

Per Scholas launched Platform by Per Scholas as a pilot in Bronx, New York and Dallas, Texas. Based on the pilot’s success thus far, Per Scholas is actively exploring new partnerships in a variety of industries, including finance and health care. Over the next 12 months, Platform by Per Scholas’ no-cost specialized technology job training is anticipated to serve 750 individuals in Texas and New York. By 2021, Platform by Per Scholas is expected to serve 3,000 individuals in Texas and New York.

Over the last twenty-three years, Per Scholas, a nationally-recognized nonprofit, has fine-tuned an employer facing model to bridge the gap between community talent and business needs. Rooted in five pillars of engagement: volunteering, leadership, hiring, giving, and computer recycling, Platform by Per Scholas continues to leverage Per Scholas strengths and offers access and opportunity to underemployed individuals. Platform by Per Scholas’ customized curricula, leading technology experts, career coaches and support networks will provide employers with premier talent to fill open jobs.

Platform by Per Scholas is financed directly by employers who have the first opportunity to hire the the graduates. Corporations interested in developing customized curricula invest in Per Scholas to develop training tracks, recruit and train students in technical and soft skills. These customized partnerships not only pay for themselves, but also help fund and sustain growth of Per Scholas’ core programs nationally. As the IT sector continues to grow exponentially, there are clear domestic talent gaps that will require ongoing partnership to support talent demands. Per Scholas, almost exclusively, is capable of providing a diverse, local and qualified workforce customized for employer’s growing needs.  

Per Scholas wants to partner with Solve to increase brand recognition as a means to recruit  potential students, staff and future employer partners. Partnering and collaborating with employers, cities and community organizations is a large part of why Per Scholas has been able to make a substantial impact the past 23 years. Becoming a Solver would help catapult this new customized training series to further  support our communities and expand our network.

Some key barriers to the success of Platform by Per Scholas includes identifying, sourcing and recruiting quality instructors within each market to teach courses. Additional challenges include developing strong working relationships with large employer partners so that our processes are standardized and translate easily between a medium-size nonprofit and a large-scale employer.