State grants and local investment fund $300k into IT training

Information technology job training is coming for unskilled workers in Philadelphia.

More than $300,000 in state grants and matched local funding is being divvied out to training programs for tech support, Web design, programming, networking and a variety of IT vocations.

The grants and matching funds are a part of a larger investment of $760,000 in grants and $510,000 in matched funding for a total impact of $1.25 million, according to an announcement made last week by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board.

The funds are being distributed to improve industry competitiveness and to address workforce needs in the region in logistics and transportation, advanced manufacturing, higher education and the allied health fields.

The most significant IT investments include Cheney University, with grants equaling $73,875, Pierce College, with $69,000 and Lincoln Tech, with $58,642.

“We know only 30 percent of the jobs in Philadelphia are unskilled, so this investment will play an integral role in keeping people employed and helping businesses to improve productivity,” Investment Board CEO Sallie A. Glickman said in a statement.

According to the organization, 70,000 workers have participated in the program since 2005, resulting in a 6.6 percent average wage increase.

Technically Not Tech: Sustainable learning with Solar States

Kensington-based solar startup Solar States fuses education with a unique business plan. Photos courtesy of Solar States.

The growth generation of the region’s solar-tech work force is going to be trained in Northern Liberties, if solar startup Solar States has anything to do about it.

This Saturday is the first of a four-session training course called “Green by Example” held in the NoLibs Community Center by Solar States. The $350 class, taught by LEED For Homes expert Sam Klein, will give participants the shot at learning the latest in solar technology and weatherization. Guest speakers from top green building companies will join the party, too.

It’s the education arm of a fully-fledged solar business.

See, Solar States Solar States aims to become an independent solar power producer by 2010, and the plan is to do so with the help of Philadelphia high school graduates and others who might want the work but don’t have the training.

Saturday’s beginning of the adult vocation course is another step in that mission of developing this city’s sustainable workforce.

But the company is more than education. Its founders say what they’re developing will help shape the solar energy industry for the better.

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Another city list: Philadelphia named top spot for tech jobs

Update 9:23 p.m. 5/19/09

Philadelphia is one of the 10 best cities in the country to find a tech job, according to PC World.

Add this to the heaping pile of other ways cities are ordered, grouped and ranked by magazines seeking attention.

This tech list, which doesn’t put the 10 in order, includes tech mainstays like the Silicon Valley and Seattle. Other major cultural cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston were also on the list.

Of course, it ain’t the first time one of these lists breezed by.
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