Senator Chris Coons delivered the keynote speech at Friday’s ITWorks graduation in Wilmington.
The program, which has been recognized by the White House for its work offering tech training to non traditional candidates in Delaware, educated 15 students this semester.
The mostly low-income students, who have little to no college education, complete one year of IT training in sixteen weeks, and then go on to complete internships at companies like Capital One and JPMorgan Chase.
Coons visited this group of students previously, and says he was impressed with their enthusiasm - and how the program’s hands-on training leads to real-world jobs.
"ITWorks has a great model, and this is a great way to fill the hundreds of currently unfilled IT jobs in Wilmington, and across the country," he said.
Matavia Porter, who is currently interning at Capital One, was a student speaker. She said that the program helped her develop a sense of resilience and purpose.
"I believe that it’s that attitude that makes a person invincible. It’s not about being the smartest. It’s not about having all the right answers. But it’s about knowing that no matter what, you have what it takes to get to where you want to go," she said.
The ITWorks program is part of Tech Impact, a tech non-profit, that partners with several corporations, including Capital One and The Longwood Foundation, to fund ITWorks and connect students to internships and jobs.
