The LaunchCode Story from LaunchCode on Vimeo.

Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of LaunchCode as well as several successful companies, including Square. Mariana Rego is LaunchCode’s Miami expansion coordinator.

We are so thrilled to partner with Knight Foundation to bring LaunchCode to the South Florida community. Related Link

“Tech job placement nonprofit LaunchCode expands to Miami with $1.25 million from Knight Foundation” – Press release (12/17/2014)

LaunchCode began 15 months ago as a community-driven effort in St. Louis, a region that, like South Florida, has seen rapid growth in technology jobs, but has simultaneously struggled to generate enough talent to meet the needs of growing companies and to ensure diverse access to these new opportunities.

LaunchCode is designed as a community-wide solution. On one side, we partner with businesses hungry for talent. On the other, we identify, mentor and match talented, driven candidates with paid apprenticeships. In our first year in St. Louis, we helped 125 people from all backgrounds and walks of life find their first job in technology, making over 70 different companies more productive in the process.

Here in South Florida, hundreds of programming jobs sit unfilled, limiting the growth of some of our most innovative and fastest-growing companies. However, good technology jobs typically require a college degree and three to five years work experience in the field just to get an interview. So it’s basically impossible for the average person to land one of these jobs, and there simply aren’t enough people with those qualifications to meet the need. At LaunchCode, we know that there are enough driven, talented people out there to fill the tech talent gap in South Florida and beyond; they just may not have the traditional degree or background. There are incredible resources available online and in communities that provide the baseline skills to land a job in technology. Here in South Florida, we’re lucky to have Wyncode, Iron Hack and Code Fever (to name just a few) providing tremendous education for learners from all backgrounds.

The challenge is there isn’t always a pathway from those skills to a job. That’s where LaunchCode comes in. We partner with hundreds of local businesses large and small to create apprenticeships so that bright candidates from all walks of life can have an opportunity to show what they can do.

Meet LaShana, one of the first LaunchCoders from St. Louis:

LaShana & MasterCard from LaunchCode on Vimeo.

South Florida is a tremendously vibrant and talented region with the potential to become a world leader in innovation. We know that LaunchCode can help companies grow and candidates land their dream jobs. Our apprenticeship program gives companies a no-risk opportunity to try out a candidate and then decide whether they’re right for the job. To date, over 90 percent of LaunchCode apprentices have converted into full-time, productive employees within three months.

We’re looking for at least 100 South Florida companies from all industries to commit to support LaunchCode by the end of January. In February, we will open our application process to talented and aspiring coders from all over South Florida and begin placing them into apprenticeships.

Working with Knight Foundation and the vast array of innovative companies, community leaders and talented job seekers in South Florida, we can help companies grow and build the next generation of tech talent.

To learn more or sign-on as a LaunchCode employer please visit launchcode.org or email Mariana Rego at [email protected].