GREENSBORO, N.C. — Parents with children in Guilford County Schools looking for a new career path have the opportunity to secure a job in the high-paying and in-demand information technology industry.
Thanks to ESSER grant funds GCS launched its new dual-generation workforce initiative where parents and guardians of Guilford County School students can get IT training for free.
The district chose IT because technology-related employment in North Carolina is projected to grow by 3% this year.
This is also in partnership with CompTIA one of the world’s leading IT associations. They will provide a 12-week training course for 25 interested parents.
The chief innovation officer for Guilford County Schools Eboni Chillis said this is an intentional effort to ensure they're not only setting students up for success but also offering parents the same advancement.
“Guilford County has the highest child poverty rate, food insecurity rate and the lowest median family income than any other high population county,” Chillis said. “So this initiative really fosters the economic well-being of our families to strengthen the economic impact of our district while addressing the racial wealth gap.”
At the end of the course, participants will get credentialed and can easily land an I-T job, that includes positions in cyber security, data analytics and support specialist.
In-person training begins November 14th at Northeast Guilford High School and Kearns Academy.
GCS is hosting two virtual information sessions for interested parents. Click here for the application and info session links.
“There we’ll have the opportunity for them to ask questions about the program and we’ll have both partners present so CompTIA our training agency and GuilfordWorks.”
GuilfordWorks interim director Danielle Harrison said they’re looking at 200 IT jobs to become open within the next year. They are a key player in the new program.
They’ll make sure interested parents are able to successfully complete the program by providing child care and other support resources to remove any barriers in the way.
“Sometimes we forget to help those such as the parent throughout the process. As a parent of a Guilford County school student and being a part of this wonderful initiative I believe this will open the door for other opportunities to also help not just the learner but to help the entire household," Harrison said.