Latest news with #MiamiTechWorks
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
American Cities Can Help Propel The U.S. Tech Industry Forward
Innovative public private partnerships in U.S. cities drive more talent into the tech ecosystem and ... More can enable the country to maintain its competitive edge in the global technology race. The recent rapid success of Deepseek AI was a wake-up call for the U.S. tech industry about the accelerating technological competition between the U.S. and China. But with federal support for universities, research and scholarships increasingly on the chopping block, how can the United States compete in the race for talent against a country with a proven willingness to subsidize scientific research and key industries—and over four times as many people? One answer is ensuring that every potential tech professional in America has the opportunity to succeed—which means closing a stubborn economic divide in our tech workforce. Aspiring tech entrepreneurs need workforce training, education, and access to venture capital. Here, American cities can play a pivotal role. In fact, innovative programs in numerous cities are already helping people overcome barriers and bring their talents to the tech sector. In 2024, the percentage of U.S. startup funding allocated to companies with Black founders reached a multiyear low of 0.4%, despite overall funding increasing, according to Crunchbase. Female-only founded startups received less than three percent of venture capital funding in 2023. The U.S. is missing out on valuable innovations and technologies originating from these parts of our population. But cities like Austin, Tulsa, Miami, Atlanta and New York are figuring out how to change that – and their efforts can be a national blueprint for opening opportunity in the tech sector to more qualified Americans. Miami Tech Works, launched in 2023, aims to develop a sustainable tech talent pipeline that includes underserved residents of Miami-Dade County. This consortium of businesses, educators, and community groups trains people in coordination with local universities and provides reskilling and upskilling education in areas like AI and software development. They also work with businesses to place their trainees in internships, apprenticeships, and other jobs. According to the organization, they've trained over 1,700 participants, many of whom are now in full-time employment or internships in the tech industry. Similarly, the novel Tech Equity Miami funding consortium– including funders like JP Morgan Chase and Miami Dade County - works to remove barriers to entry in the tech industry. The group says they've deployed $63M to train over 257,898 individuals, 68% of whom come from underrepresented communities. Austin, Texas's Opportunity Austin similarly partnered with Texas State University to create an ambassador program with 50 employers in IT, advanced manufacturing/semiconductors, and other industries to make sure educational offerings provide the skills employers actually need – thereby strengthening the regional talent pipeline. Female-only founded startups received less than three percent of venture capital funding in 2023 Along the same lines, 'Atlanta's secret sauce is connecting tech startups with the city's many Fortune 500 companies to create partnerships,' said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta via email last month. Atlanta has the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 businesses in the U.S. – and the city leverages them to become customers of their tech startups. 'The City also supports disadvantaged and underrepresented tech entrepreneurs through programs such as the Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative,' added Klementich. Olivia Rios, CEO of Cold Mountain Consulting – which provides solutions for legal marketing technology challenges – secured a $250,000 loan through the program, enabling her business to get off the ground and thrive. 'When I started my business, I quickly became aware of my knowledge gaps,' said Rios in an interview with Canvas Rebel in 2023. Atlanta's initiative 'opened so many doors for my small business to continue to scale.' In the Big Apple, the nonprofit Tech:NYC has helped build a more inclusive tech ecosystem partly by focusing on workforce development. They recently launched a citywide initiative to connect employers with NYC youth underrepresented in tech - including open houses, a micro-internship program for public high school students, and professional skills workshops. Separately, New York City's Economic Development Corporation is addressing the lack of venture capital funding going to underrepresented groups. 'By strengthening talent pipelines and mobilizing public and private investment, we are setting a new standard to ensure that founders, investors, and innovators of all backgrounds can participate and thrive in the tech economy,' Andrew Kimball, NYCEDC's President and CEO, told me via email. To expand the pool of trained New Yorkers going into the tech and VC ecosystem, NYCEDC is launching a dual-track 890-person internship program, with a consortium led by Supermomos and including the City University of New York and Kauffman Fellows (a group of diverse venture capitalists who participate in a two-year training program). 'We want to help the next generation of diverse young talent break into the space,' said Supermomo's Co-founder, Edwina Yeo. 'Venture capital has always been about seeing potential where others don't.' View of Tulsa Skyline at dusk from Centennial Park, Oklahoma. (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of ... More America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Innovative programs aren't limited to the largest metropolises. Tulsa, Oklahoma effectively built its tech ecosystem from scratch through organizations like the Tulsa Innovation Labs, which fosters high-tech startups by providing resources and mentorship, and Atento Capital, which helped to fund tech ventures and workforce development in the city. The local government worked with organizations such as the George Kaiser Family Foundation to invest in tech education and infrastructure, including creating co-working spaces. Furthermore, the city launched initiatives like the Tulsa Remote program, attracting remote tech workers to live in the area to infuse new talent into the local economy. And events like Tulsa Tech Fest and the annual Tulsa Startup Series connect entrepreneurs with investors and industry leaders, solidifying Tulsa's reputation as an emerging tech hub. These city-led initiatives are not without faults – they need to scale and currently reach only a small percentage of the population. However, the success of these programs reveals a powerful blueprint for maintaining the United States' competitive edge in the global technology race: public-private partnerships that break down barriers to entry in the tech sector. These cities are showing that meaningful change happens when local governments, educational institutions, corporations, and community organizations work in concert to create inclusive tech development ecosystems. Each city strategically uses its unique strengths to invest in workforce development, strengthen industry partnerships, and ensure access to capital for more segments of society. Other cities should follow their lead, ensuring that the nation's tech sector benefits from the full potential of its diverse talent pool.
Miami Herald
05-02-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
They went from the fast-food counter to the tech world. How Miami program leads to jobs
Students have been hired by Amazon and Meta. And former fast-food workers have enrolled in cybersecurity and AI courses. Two years after Miami Dade College helped launch a major tech training initiative, the program is seeing results. One more year remains. Miami Tech Works sprouted from a $10 million grant awarded to the college in August 2022 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Good Jobs Challenge. The funding, overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, intends to help prepare thousands of Miami-Dade County residents to work in the growing technology sector. Local leaders, particularly those at Miami Dade College, saw that effort as key to growing South Florida's tech hub while making sure people born and raised in the region didn't feel left out, or get squeezed out by the resulting higher cost of living. That's important because between 2020 and 2023, more than 66,00 new tech jobs were created in Florida, nearly a 30% annual growth rate. During that time, the annual mean wage for those jobs rose from $82,810 to $100,180, according to the college. As several hundreds gathered at Miami Dade College on Wednesday to discuss the program, Miami Tech Works' leader provided the Miami Herald with a status report. How's the program doing so far? Year One was spent developing the program, Terri-Ann Brown, director of Miami Tech Works, said in an interview with the Herald. That included incorporating other participants: educational institutions Florida International University and Florida Memorial University, and bootcamp institutes Ironhack, Brainstation, 4Geeks, OIC of South Florida and Creative Hub. it also involved investing in creating flexible curriculum and then determining which certifications and accreditations would be most useful for employers. Emblematic of that was Miami Dade College's push with artificial intelligence. It created a four-month certificate program, a two-year associate's in science degree and four-year bachelor of science degree in AI. Miami Tech Works program-wide initial goals were to train 1,000 people through those universities and organizations, then place 500 of them in full-time jobs. Hitting objectives? Here's what has been accomplished so far: ▪ 675 students were trained at universities or boot camps, including those who completed programs by December 2024. ▪ Of those, 315 have found jobs with salaries $66,000 or more; career services at their university or boot camp places them. ▪ More than 50 employers have hired from this group including Netflix and American Express. ▪ Lennar has hired the most with 11. ▪ Not only tech companies participate — cruise company Royal Caribbean has also hired students There's about a three-month lag between finishing training and getting placed, Brown said, although that can vary with position. The initiative has about one more year to hit its goals. While the new Trump administration seeks to make major cuts in government funds, it's unclear if Miami Tech Works will be affected. For now, organizers are assuming it won't be. Miami-Dade College was one of 32 awardees across the U.S. when the grant was announced in August 2022. Over the past two years, Miami Tech Works also did what it calls a 'Gap Analysis' where it looked at what's missing between employers' needs and the talent pool. Brown said that even with the coursework, employers are telling her that the technical interview during the hiring process is currently the biggest hurdle keeping students from getting job offers. She also said there's still a big need for workers trained in cybersecurity. She said the other most-in-demand tech occupations in South Florida between 2023-24 are: ▪ Software developers ▪ Computer user support specialists ▪ Data scientists The top skills in demand are: ▪ Computer Science ▪ SQL ▪ Project Management ▪ Python ▪ AWS ▪ Data Analysis ▪ Automation ▪ Microsoft Azure Miami Dade College has other initiatives. Blackstone, a partner in Miami Tech Works but not a top hiring company, is backing a summer internship program with the college. The investment firm will provide half the cost and the employer puts in the other half. The idea is 200 students will earn $20 per hour working for an array of employers. Companies interested in participating can apply until Feb. 21. The jobs offered don't all have to be in tech. Ideas Center and Tech Equity Miami are partners. Miami Dade College also is open to other initiatives, Brown said.
