Co-conveners of the TechHire Boston employer consortium, SkillWorks and the Boston Private Industry Council (Boston PIC), hosted the third and final IT/Tech forum on Monday, June 19th, 2017. The Greater Boston education and workforce development community gathered with IT/tech industry leaders in a packed space at District Hall to discuss strategies to engage and prepare local talent to meet the growing demand for IT/tech professionals. Mayor Walsh and the Boston Foundation’s Paul Grogan also joined us to announce unprecedented new investments in workforce development to grow the pool of talent and raise the level of candidate preparation from high school through college and into career. Check out the press release below for more information!
Tag: Networking
Participant Highlight: Rizel Bobb-Semple
At just 21 years old, Rizel Bobb-Semple has already attained various postsecondary credentials, worked in healthcare and IT, is currently working toward an Associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems at Bunker Hill Community College, and is starting an exciting internship at HubSpot this spring!
She attributes many of her accomplishments to the training and postsecondary programs she participated in, like Hack.Diversity, of which SkillWorks is a proud supporter. And her connection with SkillWorks doesn’t stop there, having also participated in other funded programs in healthcare and IT – showing that she’s in the driver’s seat of her education, purposefully taking advantage of opportunities to learn about, explore, and enter into the career pathway that’s right for her.
The 5 Truths of Career Success
Remaining relevant in a changing economy
Earlier this month, we fortunate enough to have Kris Stadelman, Director of NOVA Workforce Board on our panel of experts at the Second Greater Boston IT/Tech Forum, and prior to that, her colleague Luther Jackson joined us for our First Greater Boston IT/Tech Forum. Kris, Luther and the NOVA team have become valuable thought partners as we examine ways to implement innovations and best practices to address the needs of employers and workers within our communities. Some key learnings that have already been influential for the Greater Boston IT/Tech Consortium come from NOVA’s TechLadder Initiative, including the 5 Truths of Career Success.
Below is an excerpt from Bay Area Tech Career Advancement Initiative Final Report released in April, 2015 by NOVA workforce investment board.
Getting a job is only part of the battle. Economic sustainability requires a career focus and the ability to continually grow and adapt to new technological and economic challenges. Successful tech workers must have career navigation skills. In its April 2014 report, Bridge to Career Success, TechLadder identified five key factors for career success that extend beyond technical skill proficiency. These “5 Truths of Career Success” (detailed below) are building blocks for developing personal leadership, entrepreneurism, confidence and self-efficacy, the traits that tech employers value.
SkillWorks 