Since inception, LaunchCode has existed to break down barriers that prevent people from thriving and businesses from growing. Looking back at 2018, I’m proud that LaunchCode found new ways to overcome barriers to build new pipelines of skilled, passionate junior tech talent for industry partners.

We know that when you level the playing field for learners of all backgrounds through free, accessible technology training and job placement, everyone wins.

We saw thousands of people intrigued by LaunchCode career opportunities but unsure if our job-focused programs were a good fit for them. So we created Discovery, a free, self-paced curriculum designed to expose learners to code and bolster the fundamental skills necessary to be successful in classes like LC101 or CoderGirl. On their own or through community partners, hundreds of curious learners accessed Discovery and empowered themselves to make informed choices about a tech career.

We found learners who had built substantial technical skill but whose progress toward a career needed one last push. So we deployed Liftoff, a structured program through which aspiring technologists can travel the last mile of job-readiness by brushing up on interview skills, crafting standout technical résumés and building a project that highlights their hard-earned coding skill set.

We heard from employers who love LaunchCode’s mission and passionate candidates but who were hiring for specific skills in less common technologies. So we grew a targeted training program and used it to train and place more than 100 apprentices in technologies like COBOL, Pega, ServiceNow, zOS Mainframe, and Agile Scrum. This opened new doors to job seekers and fulfilled acute employer needs that are impossible or incredibly costly to address through traditional means.

By watching and listening intently and stretching ourselves to solve the problems we saw, LaunchCode created profound impact in 2018. More than 1,658 people enrolled in a LaunchCode job-focused learning program. We placed people into (a record!) 344 apprenticeships and jobs with LaunchCode employer partners. LaunchCode paid out more than $3.6 million in wages and fringe to apprentices in our programs.

Most importantly we touched thousands of lives, affected the trajectory of hundreds of families, and offered a solution for 100 companies seeking to close the skills gap. Without LaunchCode, so many success stories would be left untold.

The tech talent challenges our communities face are not going away, but 2018 proves LaunchCode holds many answers. I hope you’ll celebrate with us the victories of this past year and join us as we rush into the tests ahead.

Jeff Mazur,
Executive Director