CHANDLER, AZ — Money in this year's budget was set aside specifically to help advance Chandler's workforce.
Trent Siler was doing DoorDash and trying to climb out of a hard chapter.
"I was initially doing DoorDash for a while; prior to that, I actually going through some anxiety and depression phases, and I have been trying to get out of that, and that's why I needed to push myself," Trent Siler said.
Now he's about to graduate as his class valedictorian from a free IT training program called Per Scholas.
Chandler's council recently put $35,000 toward the program to train residents like Siler for tech jobs right here.
"Our goal is to work with the city of Chandler to help learners be able to live, train, and work in the community that they live in," said Dr. Sharise Erby, managing director of Per Scholas Phoenix.
Per Scholas is a nonprofit. It offers no-cost tech training to people who are often starting over.
"The majority of our learners they are pivoting from other careers, or, like I said, they have been unemployed or underemployed for the last year, the last two years; they are at a place of, like, what do I do next, where do I go," said Erby.
The program runs 12 to 15 weeks with professional development and hands-on training.
"They are building cables; they are working through the whole process so they have real hands-on instruction so they are ready day one when they step into the office place with their new employer," said Erby.
Chandler's money, plus other donors, covers tuition and credentials for students. Demand is growing. Per Scholas is adding classroom space and looking at a satellite campus in Chandler.
Chandler residents interested in learning more can visit the Per Scholas Phoenix website.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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