In mid-November LaunchCode Mentor Center hosted a 3rd anniversary celebration in their facility at 4811 Delmar Blvd., just east of Euclid Ave. With more than 800 people in attendance, I was unable to do more than snap some photos and try out the 10-minute coding class. Recently however, I met with public relations manager, Samantha Williams (shown later in this post), to learn more about the CWE-based technology training center.
LaunchCode was founded in 2013 by local entrepreneur and philanthropist Jim McKelvey. The training center’s mission is “to create economic opportunity for aspiring developers through job placement and training in technology.”
Williams mentioned that “McKelvey sometimes swings by the Mentor Center during the day to work. When he’s at a table with students who also come in to work on assignments and projects, they don’t know who he is. It’s amazing to see how he fits in so perfectly with the students and to witness his continued involvement in LaunchCode.”
To date, LaunchCode has placed more than 500 people in tech apprenticeships around the country. Of those, more than 4 out of 5 have converted to full employment. It’s possible that others who have completed the course have found employment or created businesses on their own.
At the celebration, an education table was staffed by LaunchCoders who shared information about what programs are available. If you, or someone you know, likes to figure things out, enjoys doing puzzles and/or sudoku, you may have an aptitude for coding, which has been described as learning a new language.
Left: Crystal Martin is the director of CoderGirl, which is designed to attract more women to the tech field. Most of the 50 or so women enrolled in one of two 20-week classes offered each year are looking for a change in career, may want to start a business, or just learn how to code (as did a lawyer enrolled in CoderGirl).
After the St. Louis American and Fox 2 News featured stories on CoderGirl recently, there were 800 applications to the program.
Right: An exuberant Rosa Mayer, VP of Market Expansion, has been traveling over the past year to other LaunchCode locations that have sprung-up in South Florida, Kansas City, Cape Girardeau, and Providence, R.I. This past January, Portland and Seattle were added to the list. I found it interesting that this sort of training would be necessary in such tech-centric cities, but I learned that HR departments won’t consider applicants who are self-taught and don’t have formal IT training.
The 10-minute coding class in action at the anniversary celebration, above.
While a senior at UMSL, where she earned a degree in political science, Samantha Williams (above) interned for Congressman William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. Following 3 years working in the Illinois State Senate, she decided to move back to St. Louis and build on the opportunity Congressman Clay had provided her by helping people more directly. She found that opportunity in her role as public relations manager at LaunchCode.
During our coffee, Williams said her goal is to “tap into communities that aren’t plugged into IT,” or that may feel locked out by income, and let them know about LaunchCode. A problem she’s identified since coming onboard last September is that potential applicants, who can be anywhere from 18 years and up, may exhibit Imposter Syndrome. “That’s not my space,” they say, “…I don’t see many people who look like me…it looks intimidating,” or they’re shy and don’t know how to gain entry to classes. She wants to engage those people.
Jermell Beane, above, became a LaunchCoder and has landed a job at Prattle Analytics. Story boards, see below, at the event featured other LaunchCoders who have found full-time employment.
According to statistics, there will be 1M tech jobs by 2010. To learn more about LaunchCode’s free training program, check the website. And here is the landing page for courses offered in other LaunchCode cities. On average, IT jobs start around $50,000. There are also paid apprenticeship opportunities available that start at roughly $15/hr., which adjust to the cost of living – in Seattle, for example.
LaunchCode Mentor Center is a prime example of the tremendous innovation and energy coming out of St. Louis.