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[STK]
[IN] ITE CPR EDU HED
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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO EDUCATION, NATIONAL, AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:
Creating IT Futures Foundation and Per Scholas Expand IT-Ready Program
in National Capital Region
WASHINGTON, April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Creating IT
Futures Foundation and Per Scholas are expanding their collaboration
to bring free technology education and job placement opportunities to
more unemployed and underemployed adults in the National Capital
Region.
The two non-profit organizations have brought their IT-Ready program
to a new location in Silver Spring, Md., providing local residents
with opportunities to obtain the education and skills needed to land
jobs in the region's fast-growing technology industry.
"This is an exciting step for both our organizations," said Charles
Eaton, CEO of the Creating IT Futures Foundation. "We've been sharing
best practices in workforce training with each other for a long time.
Now this partnership is a way for both organizations to test a new
model of expansion so we can reach our shared goal of helping more
people transform their lives through upwardly mobile IT careers."
The first class is now in session at the new location at 700 Roeder
Road, Silver Spring. In its first year, 80 students drawn from the
National Capital Region are expected to be trained at the center.
An open house is scheduled for April 22 from 2 - 5 p.m. for press and
the public to tour the new training facility. A reception will follow.
Acting Assistant Secretary Eric Seleznow of the Employment and
Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, is schedule to
speak.
Also scheduled to speak is Msgr. John Enzler, president and CEO of
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, which is helping
host the training center and working as a partner agency for referrals
to and from the IT training program.
"The National Capital Region is becoming an East Coast Silicon Valley.
There's no shortage of IT jobs, but there is a shortage of
well-trained individuals to meet companies' needs," said Bridgette
Gray, managing director of Per Scholas National Capital Region. "This
is what Per Scholas does best. We tailor our training to meet the
demands of local employers, provide high-quality training to job
seekers who otherwise do not have access to the right education or
skills, and then connect the employer to this new stream of talent."
The free eight-week IT-Ready job training course provides high
quality, hands-on technical skills instruction and professional soft
skills development. The course teaches to CompTIA A+ certification,
which prepares candidates for entry-level help desk and technical
support roles.
Historically, 85 percent of Per Scholas participants graduate and
obtain industry certifications and 75 percent of graduates land jobs.
This success rate, validated through independent studies, has
triggered expansion of the program. Silver Spring is the newest
addition to the IT-Ready network, joining Cincinnati and Columbus,
Ohio; Minneapolis, Minn.; and New York City. More than 700 individuals
will be trained this year across all sites.
Learn more at http://www.creatingitfutures.org.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140416/75669
SOURCE Creating IT Futures Foundation
-0- 04/17/2014
/CONTACT: Eric Larson, Director of Marketing and Communications, Creating IT Futures Foundation, elarson@comptia.org, (630) 678-8511
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140416/75669
AP PhotoExpress Network: ADD PRN#
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CO: Creating IT Futures Foundation
ST: District of Columbia
IN: ITE CPR EDU HED
SU: NPT JVN
PRN
-- DC06920 --
0000 04/17/2014 13:30:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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