A national nonprofit technical school with a Charlotte campus uptown is offering tuition-free tech training for people underrepresented in that industry. Nonprofit Per Scholas launched its tech skill-building program in Charlotte in 2020.
That in-person class is held at 129 W. Trade St., Suite 1210. The courses are also available virtually for residents across North Carolina as well as at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro.
Mike Terrell, managing director of Per Scholas North Carolina and based in Charlotte, said the organization’s mission revolves around diversifying the tech workforce. He said the program's purpose of being free is to provide opportunities for people who have been excluded in the tech industry.
“People of color and women and folks in the LGBTQ community are typically overlooked in these talent pools,” Terrell said. “So, really (it's) connecting those folks with those skills and opportunity to make those higher wages to get into these really high-growth tech careers.”
Per Scholas, founded in 1995 in The Bronx, New York, originated as a nonprofit that provided training on how to fix desktop computers to people in that community. Terrell said leaders of the company during that time recognized there was a bigger purpose the organization could fill.
Now, the nonprofit offers free technology training courses, both in-person and remote, to underserved people in 19 cities across the nation. The courses include training for data engineering, IT support, software engineering and cybersecurity, among other fields.
Charlotte was the 12th city added to Per Scholas’ footprint when it launched here in 2020. Terrell said the majority of the program’s North Carolina students are based in the Charlotte region, with roughly 400 people enrolled here.
The IT support course is the only in-person training offered in North Carolina, which is held at Per Scholas’ Charlotte campus. The class, which caps at 20 students, is a 12- to 15-week course held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Four of those days are strictly technical curriculum, Terrell said. The other day is tailored around professional development to help students land a career.
“The professional development piece of what Per Scholas does I think is what sets us apart,” he said. “It’s not just here's what a resume should look like. We really work with them on how to tell a story and how to be able to display their passion for technology.”
He said one purpose of the professional development day is to allow people to open up about their personal life experiences. “And I think it lends to the success that our graduates have when they get to their careers," he said.
Per Scholas has seen about 85% of its students graduate from the program, the majority of whom are people of color. Roughly 80% of those graduates find full-time employment within a year of completing the training.
Per Scholas is funded by a combination of philanthropy and individual donations. Major companies like Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) donate to Per Scholas, and graduates have the opportunity to work for these companies in software engineering, cybersecurity and other fields, the nonprofit said.
Per Scholas is currently recruiting students for its IT support course that takes place in Charlotte. Applications are due by Nov. 14 and the course kicks off Nov. 29.
