Focusing Philanthropy + Per Scholas
Through our partnership with Per Scholas, Americans from underserved communities begin long-term careers in the IT sector. Motivated adults with household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level receive ~15 weeks of rigorous, tuition-free technology training and professional development. Class curricula is designed in close collaboration with employers so that students learn the skills they need for entry-level jobs in high demand locally. Program graduates from each of 24 locations across the country see a 3x average increase in income, earning first-year salaries of $44,000 up from only $11,000 pre-course.
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Problem
Across the 30 largest tech employment markets in the U.S., there are more than 350,000 unfilled tech jobs each month that pay an average of $56,000 a year. 80,000 of these openings do not require a college degree. Yet in the same markets, 2.7 million adults are out of work, and millions more struggle to make ends meet in low-paying jobs.
Our Response
We invest in scaling Per Scholas’ evidence-based, proven model so that more workers and their families can benefit from stable employment and the opportunity to advance. In 2018, we began raising contributions to fund extra classrooms in the markets Per Scholas currently served. In 2021, we launched a Bold Initiative with Per Scholas that has so far helped them triple their annual enrollment and launch in 12 new locations. We are supporting the establishment of additional programs and tailored course curricula that will further close the technology skills gap across the country.
Why Per Scholas
We know that inadequate education and a lack of job training are two of the many root causes of poverty, and that workforce development programs are an effective intervention method. Of all such programs we screened, Per Scholas was unique in that it designs training courses hand-in-hand with partner companies to tailor for their specific recruitment needs. Graduates have access to a direct path to employment, and employer partners have access to a previously untapped talent pipeline of hard-working people with competitive skills that match company demand. Per Scholas has expanded to 24 major cities and continues to replicate outstanding job placement and wage growth rates across the country. Nationally, 85% of Per Scholas students graduate and 80% of graduates land jobs in technology. Students are 90% people of color and 40% women, groups decidedly underrepresented in IT employment today. While two independent, third party research studies have revealed unusually high income effects for Per Scholas graduates, our detailed financial analysis showed its average cost per student to be far below that of similar programs. After a year of diligence pre-partnership and 20+ site visits since, we remain confident that additional expansion efforts will yield the same high-impact results.