The 1,000th graduate of non-profit Tech Impact’s ITWorks program crossed the stage at the Riverfront Hyatt in Wilmington Friday.
ITWorks is a free 16-week training program that enables 18-26-year-olds without a four-year college degree to explore a career in the field of information technology.
Teach Impact CEO Patrick Callahan says the ceremony was a significant day for him after reflecting on the program’s start in Philadelphia 14 years ago.
“I remember when we started this program, and I thought if we just help one person connect to employment and get trained, all the effort would be worthwhile.”
The program has since expanded to Las Vegas, Nashville, Tennessee and Wilmington, which alone has seen 347 graduates.
Callahan says the program provides full in-person instruction in Wilmington, a community mentor within the IT field, and internship placement for the last five weeks of the program.
“We want to graduate these students as we did today with a certification in technology — an industry recognized certification — a cover letter, a resume, a little bit of work experience that they can put on that resume, so that really then we can work with them to gain employment into technology," he said.
Now, more than 750 graduates reside and work in the Delaware and Philadelphia regions.
In 2023, 26% of ITWorks participants were unemployed before starting the program, and the average salary of employed students was $26,427. Post graduation, average salaries increased to $43,449, and 70% found full-time positions within six months.
Looking to the future, Callahan hopes to continue expanding the program to train participants on middle skills instead of solely entry-level skills.
"It's a very discreet program — apply, get in, take the program, graduate, go get a job, right? And we're looking at that very differently today," he explained. "Now what we're doing is we're taking this program and and once you graduate, once you start your career and you've spent a year working in that career, we will now bring you back and provide additional training again at no charge for your next certification."
Callahan says they have already had some graduating classes from these secondary programs and the results have been promising.
Eligible applicants can find out more about the ITWorks program here.
