New York City expands program linking students to tech jobs
If you ask New York City, the Tech Talent Pipeline is a shining star in its technology education efforts. The program helps students find internships and training that get them cushier tech jobs when they graduate, and it appears to be paying off — the average starting salary among participants has gone up 34 percent, and 96 percent of first-wave graduates landed jobs. Accordingly, the city is expanding the partnerships for the Pipeline to give more students a chance. The wider participation includes new schools, companies and charitable donations.
To begin with, the program is adding Lehman College in the Bronx. An alliance between Cornell Tech, CUNY and New York City companies will expand internship opportunities for women in computer science by 60 percent, while companies like the New York Times, Time Inc., Jet and Urban Outfitters are committing to either expanding or offering tech-oriented fellowships, internships and junior-level jobs. There’s also a total of $675,000 in renewed charitable commitments, $500,000 of it from JPMorgan Chase.
The expansion isn’t coming as a huge surprise. Mayor de Blasio is making a big push for more middle class jobs, and NYC’s burgeoning tech sector is a large part of it. Even a modestly expanded Tech Talent Pipeline program could keep that going by not only producing more qualified workers, but by giving companies an incentive to stick around instead of moving to more established tech havens like Silicon Valley.
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