Tech Quest
Tech Quest is a U.S. Department of Labor-funded initiative led by Clark University, Public Consulting Group (PCG), and a national consortium of workforce development boards and higher education institutions that will provide 4,000 pre-apprenticeships and 1,000 information technology (IT) and IT-related apprenticeships to unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers over the next four years.
Tech Quest is dedicated to serving a wide variety of underrepresented populations, including veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members, minorities, women, and ex-offenders. The four-year initiative launched in July 2019.
The Tech Quest Apprenticeship will register and expand five new IT and IT-related apprenticeships and expand ten existing technology-focused apprenticeship programs.
Through these apprenticeship programs, workers will be matched with employers and receive both on-the-job and related instruction, increasing their wages as they improve their skills and move up the career ladder. Tech Quest will engage a minimum of 50 employers in apprenticeship activities.
Participating local Workforce Development Boards representing communities across eight states, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Texas, California, North Carolina, and Oregon, will bring their skills and expertise in regional business engagement, local participant recruitment, and complementary resources to maximize strong participant outcomes.
Clark University and private sector training partners are working collaboratively with business and industry to provide instructional design, training services, and curriculum for certification.
The Tech Quest Apprenticeship program is an equal opportunity program.
TechBoost
The TechBoost Program will enable 800 primarily unemployed and underemployed workers — especially workers displaced due to Covid-19 — to be trained and retrained in IT and IT-related industry career pathways. Participants will receive employability and soft skills training, and will also be placed into appropriate work-based learning opportunities including on-the job training, paid internships, and apprenticeship programs.
Clark will use innovative training strategies and training delivery methods to provide individuals with the skills necessary to succeed in middle- and high-skilled H-1B occupations, including information security analyst, computer systems analyst, data analyst/scientist, GIS technician, operations research analyst, software developer, and computer support specialist. Instruction models will combine on-the-job and other earn and learn training with socially distanced classroom or virtual training. New and existing LMS platforms will be utilized. TechBoost will also identify and explore the effectiveness of mobile learning, blended learning, video training, and simulation-based learning.
Participating local Workforce Development Boards representing communities across four states, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, and North Carolina, will bring their skills and expertise in regional business engagement, local participant recruitment, and complementary resources to maximize strong participant outcomes.
TechBoost is an equal opportunity program.
TechBuild
The U.S. Department of labor awarded Clark University another grant totaling $5 Million in funding to lead the TechBuild initiative. TechBuild will develop and expand worker-centered sector strategy training programs in H-1B industries. Building on the success of the Tech Quest Apprenticeship, the initiative will extend its reach to 11 additional states, focusing on information technology and professional, scientific, and technical services occupations in renewable energy, transportation, and broadband sectors.
This new program, TechBuild, will train 400 individuals in infrastructure industry career pathways. It will provide occupational skills training and access to competitive registered apprenticeship opportunities, combining instruction with on-the-job training on a national scale. The program will target unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers, with a commitment to serving 50% from underserved or underrepresented communities, including those in rural areas, women, people of color, justice-impacted individuals, veterans, and persons with disabilities.
