Creating IT Futures Foundation and Per Scholas Expand IT-Ready Program in National Capital Region

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Apr 17, 2014, 09:30 ET

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.

Creating IT Futures Foundation Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Creating IT Futures Foundation) (PRNewsFoto/Creating IT Futures Foundation) (PRNewsFoto/Creating IT Futures Foundation) (PRNewsFoto/Creating IT Futures Foundation)

"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.

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SOURCE Creating IT Futures Foundation