The TechXploration Youth Appathon presented by Cause-Driven and DiversiTech supported by Lumen8 and Lenvono held on July 14 & 15th, 2012 in Anacostia was the single most valuable event I have attended in DC, ever. Very simply TechXploration taught DC youth a new skill. High school aged youth from around the District working on teams with volunteer tech innovators to learn how to build mobile apps using JavaScript. Following typical tech Appathon events, students gave a 5-minute pitch of their mobile app to a panel of tech judges from the community. I was unable to attend the Demo & Awards day, but I was totally impressed by the ideas and skills that youth discussed on the first day I attended!
Finding web development training with no budget or a limited budget in DC is nearly non-existent.
As a current job seeker in the District I have found that aside from mastering networking and having a master’s degree, that your skill set is the single most important tool in obtaining a job. Did you know that the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES) does not offer any web design/development courses? Personally I know that I need classroom training for technology-based training because for many “teaching myself online” is not a style of learning that works for me. DOES offers training based on the direction of the Mayors Workforce Investment Council who bases training on Department of Labor statistics.
According to ONET, the Department of Labor’s database for occupational labor information web design describes salaries for web design here. ONET also describes that the District does not have any web design jobs in DC, however, ONET cites DOES as their source here. A quick Google search will show that there are in fact many web design jobs in the District with comfortable salaries for the DMV region. I hope the correct data for web designers will reflect the current market in DC so that job seekers will be able to access training. Recently the Washington Post published an article “Job seekers find it difficult to keep up with innovations in their field” that sums up the issue that many job seekers across the country are facing.
I am grateful to organizations like DiversiTech and DC Web Women that offer tech development to youth and adults in the District that are affordable and FREE. Which means I hope the community continues to support tech organizations!
Here is a running list of my “Tech skills wish list:”
- SEO optimization
- CSS
- HTML 5
- Photoshop
- iMovie/Final Cut
- Drupal
- SQL
- Access
- SharePoint
- Java script
- Ruby on Rails
- Razor’s edge