Lessons from the Field

Information technology jobs are among the fastest growing occupations in the country, spanning many industries. Yet over a half million IT job openings are unfilled. Many of these jobs do not require university degrees and could be filled by unemployed or underemployed Americans if they obtain training in a community college or certificate program. To meet the growing demand for skilled tech workers and to foster opportunities for entering the tech field, the Obama Administration announced the launch of the TechHire initiative in 2015. TechHire is a network of regions across the country that are working to build an ecosystem where government, employers, training providers, and other stakeholders work together in collective action to achieve a unified goal—developing a pipeline of diverse talent to meet employers’ rapidly growing IT workforce demands. This brief profiles TechHire communities and describes effective approaches for providing high-quality, accessible tech training.