President Tandy applauds TechHire Initiative announced by President Obama

Louisville joins 20 other cities in effort to connect people with Tech jobs

President David Tandy (D-4) applauds a new effort announced by President Barack Obama to work with local governments to get people the training they need to move in to well-paid technical jobs.

         “The President’s TechHire Initiative is an opportunity for cities, like Louisville, to connect people regardless of resume with experience in coding and other related fields to jobs that are in desperate need of their talents and other people who want to be trained in this growing area to the places where they can get the skills necessary to then move on into this sector of the new economy,” said Tandy. “Louisville is ready to meet that challenge.”

Metro Council president David Tandy
Metro Council president David Tandy

          President Tandy is in Washington DC for the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference where President Obama this morning unveiled the Tech Hire Initiative and announced Louisville as one of the first cites in the country to launch the initiative.

           From the White House, The TechHire Initiative highlights the following:

 ·        Over twenty forward-leaning communities are committing to take action – working with each other and with national employers – to expand access to tech jobs. To kick off TechHire, 20 regions, with over 120,000 open technology jobs and more than 300 employer partners in need of this workforce, are announcing plans to work together to new ways to recruit and place applicants based on their actual skills and to create more fast track tech training opportunities.

·        $100 million in new Federal investments to train and connect more workers to a good job in technology and other in-demand fields. The Administration will launch a $100 million H-1B grant competition by the Department of Labor to support innovative approaches to training and successfully employing low-skill individuals with barriers to training and employment including those with child care responsibilities, people with disabilities, disconnected youth, and limited English proficient workers, among others

·        Private sector boosts tools and resources to support and expand continued innovation in technology training, with a focus on reaching under-served populations. Private sector leaders are announcing commitments to provide free training through online training slots and expanding “coding bootcamps” – which provide intensive training for well-paying jobs, often in the course of just a few months – to low-income and underserved Americans including women, minorities, and veterans across the nation

          “Ensuring that all Louisvillians have an opportunity to have a high quality of life begins with educational opportunities that meet the ever-changing demands of the marketplace,” said Tandy. “If we are to be successful as a community in attracting, cultivating and growing businesses in Louisville we must be creative in how we address our need for this type of skilled workers.  This program will help us improve the middle class of not just Louisville but this country as we rebuild the economy in the 21st Century.”

            Louisville will join the following cities and states as part of this new program:  New York City, Philadelphia, Delaware, City of Kearney and Buffalo County, NE, Colorado, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Los Angeles,  Minneapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Rural Eastern Kentucky, Nashville, Rochester, Detroit, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Chattanooga and Portland.