According to the Pew Research Center, 97% of Americans use mobile devices on a regular basis. Additionally, according to Forbes, 71% of businesses have a website and 77% use social media. Even modern cars have interactive screens installed on the dashboard.
As more people and organizations use technology and technology advances, Modesto-based coding academy Bay Valley Tech plans to enroll 1,000 students in 2023 with tuition-free Code Academy, Digital Skills Boot camp, and estimated attending a technology internship program. This number is expected to double this year. .
A trend Bay Valley Institute of Technology President Philip Lunn and other local businesses have noticed is that many Central Valley residents are moving away from the area. On Thursday night at the Carnegie Center for the Arts in Turlock, Bay Valley Polytechnic Institute and the City of Turlock hosted an informational and networking event to help community members discover the possibilities in their own backyard.
Approximately 100 people will attend the event, who will have the opportunity to ask questions to a panel of local industry experts, participate in interview workshops, and network with local businesses and like-minded individuals. I did.
Sitting on the panel was Melinda Murillo, IOS developer at Walmart.com. Lourdes Ovando, Data Analyst at Google Developer Group. Nick Showalter, City of Turlock Information Technology Director. Siegfried Guntensperger, software engineer at E&J Gallo Winery. Lucas Philips, a software engineer at Tyler Tech, and Taylor LaMar, CEO of LaMar Software. A common theme shared by the groups is that most, if not all, businesses rely heavily on technology. And you need people who can implement, maintain, and develop that technology.
“Software engineering is becoming a blue-collar job,” Guntensperger says.
Matthew Davis, 28, of Turlock, has been in the technology industry for about 15 years. He is currently a senior software engineer at configure8, a company dedicated to helping developers build software.
“Not everyone can come off the street and have the skillset needed for this job, but thanks to the world we live in where technology is everywhere, you can get the skillset off the street.” “It's becoming much more common to be able to wear it,” and interest is growing. “I can certainly see how things are trending towards engineering becoming more blue-collar,” Davis said.
“I think the biggest change over the last few years is just the number of people[in the industry],” he continued. “This is 10 times the number of people we've had at events like this since I started in the industry. It's great to see so many more people interested in technology and learning.”
The 100 attendees consisted of dozens of young, ambitious students looking to break into the industry, but also local business owners looking to network and hire employees. Some were looking to learn more about how to incorporate technology into their work. . It was a sight that Ran was excited to see.
“We really want to draw from these business and community leaders to build a new coalition of people who truly understand the value of technology and hiring technology workers,” he said. Stated.
In an April interview with the Turlock Journal, Lunn talked about Silicon Valley companies hiring talent from the Central Valley. We are located at the gateway to Silicon Valley…The Central Valley is currently home to 6.5 million people and has a huge workforce and a huge market for technology companies, so they start exploring the region. I am. ”
While that remains true, he believes Thursday's event succeeded in proving that people can develop their skills, get jobs and live comfortably while staying in their hometowns. According to the California Employment Development Department, the San Joaquin Valley is expected to have 390,460 job openings for software developers, software quality assurance analysts and testers between 2020 and 2030. If these predictions come true, it would be the region's biggest growth industry over the next decade.
“Many people think they need to move to find a job and be successful. But our job is to equip these people with skills and open doors of opportunity,” he said. Told.
Bay Valley Tech's Code Academy offers lessons in HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js, and MySQL to prepare students for careers as web developers, software developers, and business analysts. Masu. Our part-time digital skills bootcamp offers lessons in digital design, digital marketing, technology sales, and partnership development. For the past few years, Stanislaus has hosted his Web Development Boothe camp for computer science majors, offering resume writing workshops and networking events for students. In addition, Bay Valley Technical College and Turlock Unified School District have teamed up to offer courses at Turlock Adult School.
For more information about Bay Valley Tech or to apply for the program, please visit www.BayValleyTech.com.
