(WXYZ) — The tech sector is experiencing major growth in metro Detroit and across the state. Locally, there are more than 104,000 tech jobs and the annual salary for those jobs is $90,000 – twice the overall average salary for the area.
Getting a tech job can set you on a new path financially, and one nonprofit is helping people in the area
Inside the Durfee Innovation Society on Detroit's west side, the Detroit chapter of the national nonprofit NPower. The focus here is to give participants the ability to create a dynamic new life for themselves and close the talent gap in Michigan's technology workforce.
Kelly Bryson is one of the graduates of NPower's Michigan Tech Fundamentals program. The course teaches participants the basics of IT using real-world applications and ends with industry-recognized credentials
The free program is six months long, but Kelly, who's engaged to be married, says NPower's Tech Fundamentals has prepared him for a new life in IT.
"This is going to be pretty much starting a whole new career for me," Bryson said. "The offers is the State in Michigan to work for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget."
Bryson will be a project coordinator. It is a good entry-level job.
Jose Reyes, the executive director of NPower Michigan, says program participants leave with CompTIA A+, IT Fundamentals+, Google IT Support Certificate, and an IT Generalist Apprenticeship credential. They can earn $45,000 to $65,000 a year in the private sector, and go up from there.
"I can't take five industry credentials and be a cardiologist. What if I want to be a cybersecurity specialist? I can take five industry credentials and make almost as much as the doctor," Reyes said.
Reyes calls it a game changer and points to rising graduation rates in Detroit but declining enrollment in college and other post-secondary training.
That's why NPower targets 18- to 26-year-olds along with women of color, who are underrepresented in tech, and veterans and their spouses.
"Many of these active-duty individuals already have national security clearance, which is a condition to be a cybersecurity analyst," Reyes said.
The program works with industry partners like Bank of America to teach soft skills like interviewing and how to budget.
"Paying down debt credit, being able to save for long-term goals such as buying a car, homeownership," Maria Serravalle, the neighborhood lending regional manager for Bank of America, said.
Those industry partners help fund NPower and many hire NPower graduates, using this pipeline to help close Michigan's growing tech talent gap. A gap supercharged by the growth of EVs, connected and autonomous vehicles and AI.
"When you start thinking about AI and mobility, that number is growing rapidly. So, there is a huge demand for I.T. talent in this region," Reyes said.
Talent like Kelly who's, ready for his new career and new life with his fiancée, Johnnie.
