At New Force, students apply their new coding skills in group projects. Here, lead instructor Jordan Castelloe provides guidance to students Luke Miller and Seaver Stanley, while they work as a team to build a web application for a mock client.
At New Force, students apply their new coding skills in group projects. Here, lead instructor Jordan Castelloe provides guidance to students Luke Miller and Seaver Stanley, while they work as a team to build a web application for a mock client.
Generation West Virginia’s NewForce program received $167,000 in federal funds to help strengthen the program that prepares underemployed West Virginians with no prior coding experience for their first career in the technology industry.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, made the announcement saying the program helps those enrolled to get to their first career in the technology industry and connects them with good-paying, long-term software development jobs.
“Generation West Virginia’s NewForce program provides vital opportunities to keep our young people employed in critical jobs right here in West Virginia. When I joined Alejandra Castillo, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, in Huntington last year, we saw firsthand how NewForce is training West Virginians to work in the state’s growing tech industry. That is why I proudly secured this funding to support their efforts, which will help replace computers and monitors, bolster outreach and recruiting initiatives, purchase office supplies and more,” Manchin said in a news release.
NewForce was launched in January 2019, according to executive director Alex Weld.
“We have successfully trained 85 West Virginians and the graduation rate for NewForce is 92%,” Weld said in an email. “Across all cohorts, we’ve placed 86% of job-seeking graduates within six months of graduation.”
Weld says 14% of the program’s graduates work at completely remote companies with no office in West Virginia. The other 86% of placed grads work in companies with an office in the state, and 97% of all placed grads have flexible work-from-home options.
Across cohorts, the average starting salary is $48,000.
“The most recent class of graduates, Cohort 5, saw a big increase in starting salary. Their cohort average was $58,000,” Weld said.
Weld says the program successfully trained and placed teachers, professors, lawn care professionals, travel agents, salespeople, first responders, servers, bartenders, engineers and others.
“Last year when Sen. Manchin and Assistant Secretary Castillo visited West Virginia, we had the opportunity to introduce them to some of our NewForce graduates. They were able to see firsthand how this training program supports West Virginians from all backgrounds, from the service industry to construction workers, and helps them secure well-paying jobs in the tech industry,” Weld said. “We are honored that Sen. Manchin recognizes the value of this program, and we look forward to continuing to build a stronger tech economy for West Virginia and its residents.”
