White House names Bellevue TechHire community

City to collaborate with Coding Dojo by supporting technology training for city's innovation economy

Following the White House's designation of Bellevue as a TechHire community, the City of Bellevue and Coding Dojo, a pioneer in the coding boot camp space, jointly announced today their collaboration in making technology training more accessible to residents that can help them secure local jobs with some of Puget Sound's most notable tech employers.

As a TechHire community, the city aims to connect local employers and government and workforce development resources with educational support provided by Coding Dojo and Bellevue College. Together, Coding Dojo and Bellevue College will facilitate training and hiring of local residents.

"A shrinking middle class that's barely earning a living wage is a big problem for our country," said Councilmember Conrad Lee. "Through TechHire, the technology training offered by Coding Dojo and Bellevue College will help low-wage earners find higher paying jobs in our area. The program will connect local companies with our residents, increasing the opportunities for employment in better paying jobs. It's a win-win for everybody! As a TechHire community, we as a city are showing our commitment to helping more locals gain access to skilled job training so they can stay in Bellevue and prosper."

"With the White House recognizing Bellevue as a TechHire community, I'm excited for our residents to have more educational resources that can help them get hired locally in the tech sector," said Councilmember Lynne Robinson. "By having Coding Dojo as a partner, my hope is our diverse population will benefit greatly through increased access to training that's necessary to compete in today's tech-oriented job market. Hiring locally means fewer commutes, more high paying jobs and increased opportunity in our community."

In addition to offering scholarships to veterans, women and minorities looking for a career change, Coding Dojo's Coding for Higher Education Program delivers continuing education courses covering in-demand programming languages and technologies. Coding Dojo has partnered with Bellevue College Continuing Education to provide the curriculum, instructors and access to its proprietary online platform for classes taught on-site at the school, allowing Americans to create or change their career trajectory by gaining the skills needed to secure a technology job.

"Transforming lives through programming literacy has been Coding Dojo's mission since its inception in 2011," said Coding Dojo CEO Richard Wang. "Our unique approach to teaching, along with the industry's most robust learning platform, levels the playing field for Americans by giving them the opportunity to gain the skills they need to secure jobs with local employers. We look forward to working with the City of Bellevue, as well as local employers, in this endeavor."

The Bellevue City Council also approved funds in the 2017 budget to support TechHire.

This month, the White House announced Bellevue is one of the 20 latest TechHire communities dedicated to creating pathways for more Americans to access well-paying tech jobs and expanding local tech sectors in communities across the country. The city is joining a national network of 71 TechHire communities in receiving support to spearhead efforts to help overlooked and underrepresented Americans start technology careers.

To learn more about the TechHire Initiative, visit www.techhire.org.

For details about Coding Dojo's commitment to training Americans for the jobs of tomorrow, visit: http://www.codingdojo.com/tech-hire-coding-dojo.

Bellevue College recently launched a new bachelor of science in computer science degree.

ABOUT TECHHIRE
TechHire, an initiative powered by Opportunity@Work, is a nationwide, community-based movement that helps underrepresented job seekers start careers in the technology industry. TechHire partners with education providers from across the tech community to teach in-demand skills to people who want to take part in the modern economy -- from overlooked youth, to veterans, to the long-term unemployed; and helps them find jobs by connecting them to a network of employers looking for tech talent. To learn more, visit www.techhire.org.

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY@WORK
Opportunity@Work is a nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to expand access to career opportunities so that all Americans can work, learn, and earn to their full potential in a dynamic economy. By 2025, Opportunity@Work will empower over 1 million Americans, creating $20 billion+ per year of additional earnings for Americans across the country. Opportunity@Work expands access to career opportunities for all by building partnerships with employers, community organizations, civic leadership and job seekers to transform hiring practices, expand learning pathways, and pioneer talent financing. To learn more, visit www.opportunityatwork.org.

ABOUT CODING DOJO
Coding Dojo is one of the highest rated coding bootcamps in the industry, and the only coding bootcamp in the world to teach three full technology stacks in a single 14-week program. Since 2012, Coding Dojo has helped individuals from a variety of backgrounds and skill levels transform into professional developers who go on to be hired by start-ups and world-class companies like Amazon, Expedia, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, DocuSign and Skytap. Coding Dojo has campuses in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. The company is one of the fastest growing startups with recognition in rankings like the GeekWire 200. Go to www.codingdojo.com to learn more.

ABOUT THE CITY OF BELLEVUE
Known as a "City in a Park" with nearly 100 parks and a vast network of trails and greenbelts, Bellevue is the fifth largest city in Washington state. The Eastside city spans 33.5 square miles from Lake Washington to Lake Sammamish. As part of the Innovation Triangle, Bellevue is the high-tech and retail center with a downtown skyline of gleaming high-rises, a diverse population of approximately 140,000 and schools that are consistently rated among the best in the country.