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Newark ‘Exploding’ With Tech Companies. Mayor Ras Baraka Is Preparing Locals For Jobs With Free Tech Training

Newark ‘Exploding’ With Tech Companies. Mayor Ras Baraka Is Preparing Locals For Jobs With Free Tech Training

Per Scholas, a New York City-based tech training nonprofit with six branches around the U.S.,  is opening a Newark, New Jersey branch offering free intensive courses and career support to local residents.

The plan is to train and find tech jobs for 200 graduates over the next three years, enrolling about 100 students per year with free training. Two-thirds of the students will be Newark residents, according to a City of Newark press release. Courses will run three to four months starting in January.

“Newark is experiencing an explosion of technology companies choosing to locate here,”  Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement. “One of our highest priorities is to ensure that Newark residents benefit from the city’s accelerating development, investment and job growth. The decision by Per Scholas to come to Newark is both a confirmation of Newark’s technology leadership and a boost to our goal of preparing residents for well-paying tech jobs.”

Mayor Ras Baraka
Ras Baraka. AP Photo: Julio Cortez.

Newark is one of 20 top contenders for Amazon’s new headquarters. Amazon said it will create up to 50,00 jobs with an average salary of $100,000.

Per Scholas has locations in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus (Ohio), Dallas, and Silver Spring,(Maryland). The organization trains more than 1,000 students a year in occupations including information technology support, cybersecurity, and web development, partnering with more than 500 employers around the U.S. on job placement and curriculum design. It claims to have  an 80-percent employment rate with graduates often more than doubling their annual salary from previous jobs.

“Over the past year, we’ve had the privilege to learn about Newark from many of the community-based organizations, public institutions and local employers who call this unique city home,” said Plinio Ayala, president and CEO of Per Scholas. “We’ve learned that Newark’s assets are incredible – among them, robust fiber infrastructure, a vibrant and growing tech ecosystem, and a shared educational, nonprofit and corporate commitment to economic inclusion.”

Mayor Baraka’s Newark 2020 initiative aims to find work for 2,020 unemployed Newark residents by 2020. “Per Scholas Newark will align closely with” Newark 2020, according to a press release.

Per Scholas Newark is getting financial backing from Barclays, Prudential Financial and the PSEG Foundation.

Newark is a city with a diverse talent pipeline, a strong tech infrastructure and a robust network of community-based organizations focused on workforce development, said Sarah Keh, VP of corporate giving for Prudential Financial. Prudential has had headquarters in Newark for more than 140 years.

The PSEG Foundation has had headquarters in Newark for 114 years and supports and invests in sustainable neighborhoods, STEM education and safety. “Per Scholas is bringing to Newark an award-winning and proven model that addresses head-on systemic inequities and the workforce barriers too often faced by both residents and employers,” said Barb Short, president and chief diversity officer of PSEG.

Barclays recently announced it is expanding its tech operations to a new campus in New Jersey.

“Our new Barclays campus in Whippany will increasingly require a sustainable talent pipeline from the local community,” said Deborah Goldfarb, global head of citizenship for Barclays International.

Newark residents interested in applying for the free technical training offered by Per Scholas can visitwww.perscholas.org/newark to submit an application. Applications are now open for the first IT Support class which will begin in January, and admissions will be conducted on a rolling basis for future classes through the year.