Keep moving forward.

I can think of no better day to launch a newsletter about tech apprenticeships, than on the day we celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who once said "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."

In this weekly newsletter, I will lay out practical strategies and tactics to inspire those in tech to take action. Each week we'll explore how to attract, upskill, and retain more talented contributors into our digital ecosystem. I started this newsletter to help you keep moving forward.

There are zero free, cheap, and fast solutions to our current challenges, so let's stop wishing on shortcuts.

Today many innovative workforce solutions exist to equip folks with the skills they need for well-paying new-collar careers. But these new ways to develop talent are dramatically different from the status quo. They require a significant investment of time, money, talent resources, etc. There are zero free, cheap, and fast solutions to our current challenges, so let's stop wishing on shortcuts. Make no mistake we are falling terribly behind on available tech talent in comparison to the open roles that need to be filled by skilled software and data engineers.

Employers leading the effort to invest in workforce development, for our growing digital economy, are testing new approaches. In the face of COVID, the Great Resignation, and the myriad of other challenges that make great tech talent so hard to find the bold are experimenting and seeing success.

While unemployment has dipped to 3.9% overall (6.5 Million people), the costs of energy, food, gas, and rent are on the rise for everyone. And this regressive tax is also hitting the lowest income groups the worst.

Too many Americans are ill-prepared for work that requires highly technical skills. We don't take seriously the need for computational thinking at the k-12 level (yet). And anyone recruiting knows we don't have an endless supply of "Sr. Engineers". We need to be developing a massive amount of early-career talent to fill the gap. So is there a way to help those most in need find not just a job, but an opportunity to participate fully in the future of work? I believe the answer is yes if we can help them overcome barriers to entry.

If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But, whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward. - MLK

I like to keep things simple, so this translates to "do something" in my mind. And there is something that doesn't require a budget, or approval from C-level executives. Something meaningful we can all put into practice -- allyship. This takes effort. But this is an approach that moves the needle. It's a start, and then we just have to keep moving forward.

Over the past year, I’ve had the honor to co-chair Athena’s Male Allyship committee, and it’s made me more aware of the barriers women face in the workplace. I now find myself thinking more strategically about how I can support more women in tech. My nonprofit has become more proactive in removing barriers women face with our DOL Registered Tech Apprenticeship Program. This all started with a mental shift in focus to allyship.

Interested in learning more about allyship in the workplace?