Contact:
Luther Jackson
408-730-7832
February 25, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #0214-01
Print version (PDF: 111KB)
NOVA Workforce Development has teamed with The Stride Center to promote career advancement and family self-sufficiency for entry-level tech workers.
The Bay Area Tech Career Advancement Initiative will provide low- and moderate-income tech workers with training in professional networking, personal marketing and other “career navigation” skills that are critical for industry professionals seeking to move up a tech career ladder.
“Career navigation skills are important for success in any industry, but they are essential in technology,” NOVA Director Kris Stadelman said. “We want to make sure that these entry-level tech workers have all of the tools they need for career success.”
A regional consortium has awarded NOVA a $150,000 federal grant to launch the advancement initiative. This project is being funded in part by a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Prosperity Plan Program, a project funded through the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Sustainable Communities Partnership Program. The one-year project is scheduled to start April 1.
Based in Sunnyvale, NOVA is a nonprofit, federally funded employment and training agency that provides customer-focused workforce development services. NOVA is the lead partner in TechLadder, a broad initiative promoting career advancement for tech workers that now includes this effort with the Stride Center.
The Stride Center is an Oakland non-profit with a 14-year track record of preparing low- and moderate-income workers for entry-level tech jobs. Currently about 70 percent of the students in Stride’s core program find jobs that pay an average of $16 an hour with 30 percent wage gains in the first 18 months
“In tech, getting the first job is not enough because of continually changing skill demands,” Stride Director Barrie Hathaway said. “To remain viable, our graduates must be able to move from entry-level jobs up the career ladder.”
Also under the TechLadder umbrella, NOVA has undertaken a tech career pathways research project to better understand industry career success factors. This effort is supported by a grant from the Creating IT Futures Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the CompTIA tech industry association.
The Tech Career Advancement Initiative will use data from the career pathways project to help create an enhanced career navigation curriculum for Stride students.
In addition to NOVA and Stride, advancement initiative partners include the Economic Advancement Research Institute, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the Mid-Pacific Information and Communication Technologies Center, Workforce Investment San Francisco and San José State University’s anthropology department.
For more information, contact NOVA Program Manager Luther Jackson at or 408-506-3646.
About NOVA:
The NOVA Workforce Board, in conjunction with the City of Sunnyvale, oversees the services and activities of the NOVA Job Center, a grant-funded workforce development agency serving the cities of Cupertino, Los Altos, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. NOVA provides customer- focused services for individuals seeking retraining and reemployment, as well as for local businesses seeking professional solutions for human resource issues. Additional information on NOVA and its services is available at www.novaworks.org. NOVA is a service of the City of Sunnyvale.
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