A Plug For The Talent Drain: New Program Gives College-Free Path Into IT

There isn't much to it right now -- just an enormous abandoned office, broken up by thick half-painted pillars. Walking around the empty office that overlooks the downtown street of the western Massachusetts city of Springfield, it takes a lot of imagination to picture it transformed into a sleek Google-esque center. But Delcie Bean, CEO of Paragus Strategic IT, said he sees potential in the space and he's going to use it to revive the IT industry's talent pool and the community.

The tentative name for the program he's starting in the space is Valley Technology Outreach, which Bean said he expects will change by the end of the year. The program is designed to connect the city's youth from poorer communities with growth opportunities and also give the IT companies capable employees to plug a growing talent drain.

Bean said he sees the streets of Springfield as the next Silicon Valley and the future heart of innovation for America. All of the ingredients are there, he said, or almost all of them at least. There is a high quality of life, education with many local and state universities, restaurants, and plenty of land and manufacturing infrastructure just waiting to be taken advantage of, Bean said. The only thing missing is the talent, he said, which is where the nonprofit training program comes into play.

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"There's no reason why it can't happen here if it happened [Silicon Valley]," Bean said. "A huge piece of that is going to be the talent and workforce development. If we can't grow these people, if we can't make them, we can't just attract them here. Massachusetts isn't going to become the tech capital of America all on its own. It's going to do it because it decides to, because it creates that talent."

And, that's exactly what Bean hopes to do.

The program itself plans to take in 100 local high school students and train them in computer science skills that will be applicable in the workplace. When students successfully master a skill, they will receive a badge, similar to the idea of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, which shows potential employers exactly which skills they have. Companies looking for new employees can then search the program's database to find the graduating seniors who have the badges, or skills, they need to fill open positions.

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The program's lessons will be based on curriculum already developed by other companies, such as Cisco's certification program or Microsoft's Code Academy, and compiled through Mozilla Backpack. Most of the work will be done through those portals, but human teachers will also be available to motivate students and help them when they get stuck.

"We don't want to reinvent wheels that aren't broken," Valley Technology Outreach's Bean said.

While 60 percent of the learning will be technical-related, Bean said the remaining 40 percent will be focused on what he calls "soft skills." Bean said students will learn how to write a resume, interview and dress professionally, as well as learning skills like teamwork and how to write a business email. Bean said he designed the program this way after his own experience hiring employees.

"Just having warm bodies, even the ones who know tech skills, isn't enough," Bean said.

The Springfield-area graduates could also use the extra income boost, Bean said. The average income per capita for the city is just more than $18,000, markedly less than the state's average of more than $35,000 per capita, according to U.S. Census data. The average college graduate with a computer science degree in the U.S. was paid more than $60,000 in 2012, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

"It's kind of the rising tide [lifts] all ships. ... You're going to have an effect where it's going to help [the IT industry] in so many ways that it's a good investment of my time if it pays off and I believe very confidently that it will," Bean said.

The program's database will also work in reverse -- providing the program with data on what employers are looking for, so that students spend their time only learning exactly what is needed and not wasting their time. Or, if a company is looking for a student with, for example, 10 specific badges, those who fall just short can shift their efforts to fill the requirements and get hired.

For now, the program will kick off next summer with a pilot program of 25 handpicked students recommended by local community groups. The students will start learning the summer before their senior year and continue through the year. The pilot program is designed to iron out the kinks and get the community excited about the program, Bean said.

The program will eventually pay for itself through a 10 to 15 percent commission it will receive from organizations that hire the students, similar to a headhunter's fee. However, Bean said companies are so eager for the talent that they said they would even pay a higher rate, though he said he wants to keep it low so companies won't have any reason to hesitate before taking qualified graduates on board.

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For now, the program is working to raise capital to renovate the space and get staff ready for the pilot program to start in mid-June. Valley Technology Outreach's Bean said the goal is to raise $250,000 for the pilot program, of which close to $200,000 has already been raised from employers, private donations, foundations and angel investors. They will then set their sights on raising $2 million to $5 million for the full program.

The space's renovations will aim to mimic the hip, modern feel of a Google office, Bean said. He wants to keep it in an open concept, full of snacks and with areas for meetings and quiet spaces for those who work better in quiet settings. The idea is that it is a fun place for high school students to come, so they will want to spend their time there instead of feeling forced. Bean said he envisions students staying late into the night, simply because they are excited about coding and the topics they are learning.

Bean's vision is incredibly different than the college experience most high school graduates feel compelled to go through if they want more education, Bean said. The plan is to have them prepared upon high school graduation to step into an IT company and begin making money immediately, instead of taking on college debt to achieve the same goal, Bean said. However, for those who have their sights set on college, Bean said that he is forming bonds with local colleges, such as Holyoke Community College, to allow the students to continue their education while already employed.

"What we're trying to say is that some kids aren't ready to go to college when they graduate high school," Bean said. "What we want to try to do is create a program that lets both of those things [exist in harmony]."

Bean didn't go to college himself. He currently leads his main local IT company Paragus Strategic IT as well as two other technology startups in the area. He said he sees his lack of both college education and experience in the nonprofit world gives him a nontraditional view of the program, which lets him operate it more as a tech startup, which he expects to be much more successful.

"It's just being willing to not do things the traditional way," Bean said.

With the increase in the talent pool, Bean said he hopes to be able to draw companies to western Massachusetts such as EMC and Google. If it works, he plans to spread to other areas of the state, such as Worcester or the South Shore, to train the talent pool there as well.

"If this works -- there's no reason not to replicate it all over," Bean said.

PUBLISHED NOV. 6, 2013