Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said the money will help expand coding academies and other programs aimed at quickly training employees for high-tech jobs. There will be new initiatives, too, he said.
“The White House knows that these resources will go a long ways here,” Berry said in an interview.
Berry joined Vice President Joe Biden and Labor Secretary Tom Perez on a conference call Monday to announce the $150 million in TechHire Partnership grants to 39 groups across the country. More than 230 local governments, employers and others applied.
“These are good programs,” Biden said. “We’ve demonstrated they work.”
Employers are having trouble filling basic technology jobs in Web development, digital marketing and similar areas, despite the high pay, said Megan Smith, the United States’ chief technology officer and an aide to President Barack Obama.
Perez said each grant includes accountability measures to ensure the money is well-spent.
In Albuquerque, Berry said the grant money is spread over four years. Programs throughout the metropolitan area will share in the money, he said.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Berry said during the conference call.
About 1,000 technology jobs are unfilled in the Albuquerque area, he said, so the skills training fills a practical need.
©2016 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
