Workforce Investment Network (WIN)

We have discovered there are businesses having an issue finding talented people who can successfully fill high-growth positions in coding and technology. It has also been recognized that the limiting factor for most people who are struggling to get their careers started isn’t aptitude, it’s resource constraints. To address these problems simultaneously, the Workforce Investment Network (WIN) program trains participants to learn to code, grow their soft skills, and receive on-the-job training within technology. During the training, they receive wages, resources, and wrap-around services. Upon completion, participants are then provided with full-time employment with one of our hiring partners.  By fulfilling the need for resources and digital workforce opportunities within underserved groups, this solution inevitably produces upward mobility opportunities for economically distressed communities and increases the number of minorities pursuing careers in technology.

The WIN program desires to provide upward mobility opportunities for economically distressed communities and to increase the number of minorities pursuing careers in technology while simultaneously fulfilling the recognized need for skilled employees. Currently, within our region, 12.8% of the population lives below the poverty line, the majority of which are female and/or people of color[datausa]. And in the high-tech sector, African Americans make up only 7.4% to 14.4% of the workforce[eeoc.gov]. It should also be noted that our region has thousands of unfulfilled entry-level technology positions every year. For many, the root of these issues is not aptitude, but rather resource constraints. In order to address these matters, there must be pathways and resources in order for individuals in underserved communities to obtain these opportunities and experience economic mobility. 

The Workforce Investment Network (WIN) program uses an intensive 24-week training period where participants learn to code, grow their soft skills, and receive on-the-job training at one of our hiring partners, all while getting paid (~$18/hr). This payment can vary depending on the needs of the participant and is provided by our sponsors. In addition, we provide resources and wrap-around services such as laptops, housing, childcare, and transportation. At the end of the program, if participants satisfy all the criteria for graduation, they are then transitioned into a high-growth full-time position at a predetermined sponsoring institution. There they receive a minimum salary of $55k and are given opportunities for economic mobility and promising careers.

In previous sessions, the WIN program has had the privilege of serving individuals who have undergone a variety of hardships -- homelessness, single-parenthood, financial instability -- as well as those belonging to minority groups. The most recent session concluded in July of 2021 and was comprised of 83% people of color along with 53% of participants being women. Over the last three sessions, 113 participants have graduated and on average were making less than $20k per year before entering the program. 

Our solution aims to give future participants fulfilling careers in technology in order to promote upward mobility not only for themselves but their communities as well. During the entry process, participants are interviewed and their needs for resources are addressed as a means to alleviate any issues that may hinder their success during the program. Such resources include, but are not limited to, financial compensation, childcare, transportation, and housing. Although we have conversations about resources when considering participants, their needs do not impact their potential candidacy or likelihood to be admitted into the program. After their acceptance, we continuously have one on one meetings giving us a chance to interact with them on a more personal level and where they can voice any new concerns. Additionally, the WIN program attempts to create a sense of community among the participants by having them engage in team-building exercises all while learning new skills together.

By bolstering individuals with a number of resources, the WIN program allows participants to focus on the training they receive during their time with us. Throughout their journey, we provide knowledge on digital skills used in technology along with personal development skills. At the conclusion of the program, they are given employment opportunities with our participating sponsors. By targeting communities that are underserved, this program introduces more diversity in the industry thus reducing the inequalities in the digital workforce.

We have chosen this stage of development because we are currently deploying our services within Charlotte, NC, and the surrounding area. As of July 2021, the WIN program has had 113 participants successfully complete the program and were hired by participating sponsors.

The WIN program, by serving underrepresented populations, reduces the wealth gap of Black communities. The ServiceNow Digital Equity Prize would be used to help fund the resources and wrap-around services that we provide to our participants. This will allow us to extend our solution to more underserved individuals within the community.

There are several unique elements to the WIN program:

• For participants, the biggest thing that distinguishes WIN from traditional national programs similar in nature (ex -- YearUp) is how much emphasis we place on solving the resource constraint issue. Due to our unique relationship with our sponsors, we are able to pay significantly more in salary while also solving wrap-around service needs like housing, childcare, transportation, and many others. For example, while organizations like YearUp pay around $8/hr, our pay scale is about $18/hr. This makes it so that people who have bills to pay or children to care for are able to fully commit to this opportunity comfortably rather than rely on loans. We attempt to reach a wider pool of candidates who tend to have more experience, more options, and are much more qualified when they enter the digital workforce. Many other organizations believe they are solving the problem and enabling candidates who are in poverty to be able to pursue technology careers, however, they haven’t invested enough in the resources to temporarily lift candidates out of the circumstances that have stifled them in the past until they are able to self-sustaining.

• Most other programs place candidates in really diminished technology roles like QA, testing, or even call center (which shouldn’t qualify as a “technology” role) positions that have no potential for growth. Our solution is able to attract more competitive candidates (see above), thus giving our sponsors more confidence placing these candidates into the same entry-level roles that are usually filled by traditional 4-yr computer science candidates. We’ve seen tremendous vocational growth as our candidates have gone from the bottom quintiles of poverty to becoming no different from their new peers in terms of capability. Many of our past participants have already obtained promotions and are making $100k+.

As a workforce development program that trains participants to work in technology, we touch technology every day.

Recruitment -- We consciously do not require our candidates to have too much technical proficiency when entering the program. This allows us to reach across the digital divide and enable opportunities for those who do not have access to the same magnitude of technology as traditional candidates. That being said, we have a quantitative approach in our back-end of how we assess individuals to determine who are the top candidates.

Training -- We use technology to conduct the training of the program, assess candidate proficiency, match candidates with sponsors, monitor participant performance, etc.

Unfortunately, we do not have “hard evidence” to support these claims as most of what we’re about to say is proprietary information. When we first did an RFP to find a suitable aptitude exam provider, we worked with Jobs for the Future to determine the best in the industry to meet our needs. We worked with an AI-based aptitude test provider named Catalyte who mentioned to us that their world-leading technology identifies nontraditional candidates with a 90% persistence rate (likelihood of a candidate who scores well on their test is 90% likely to graduate from a boot camp/program of similar nature). We found when we used their product that we skewed much lower and had to adjust our screening process in order to reach a similar number. After having worked on this for three cohorts now, we are proud to say that our new technology for assessing potential ended in our most recent cohort having a 100% graduation rate. We are hesitant to take all the credit for the achievement as the participants are the ones who have to put in all the hard work and do all the things required to satisfactorily graduate.

We certainly take a lot of private information because we have to conduct background checks and things sensitive in nature, so data security has always been on the front of our minds. Ethically, we are always conscious that our program is very attractive, many candidates have gone as far as to say it is a life-changing opportunity. We are aware that our process provides hope to thousands of candidates who apply and then takes hope away from the hundreds that we have to, unfortunately, turn down. Ethically, we are working to invent ways to work with this audience in a lighter-touch way that can prepare them to re-enter future cohorts better prepared and ready to face the rigorous demands the program places onto participants.

The WIN program has successfully served 113 participants in our first two years of operation. Our plan is to graduate an additional 100+ candidates per year in the immediate future, and hopefully scale up to serve even more moving forward.

One of the hardest things about operating a workforce development program targeting underserved communities is that those populations are very skeptical of “quick-fix” solutions and rightfully so. Now that we have established credibility with our intended audience, we’ve already begun creating new programs like the Youth Technology Apprenticeship Camp (YTAC) for youth in underserved communities to access STEM opportunities that their traditional k12 schools either do not provide or do not have the funding to provide to every student. We are able to reach thousands of youth because of the efficiencies we have created with our technology, and several of these candidates have even graduated from YTAC to participate and graduate from the WIN program (our most recent WIN cohort featured two 19-year old twins who are now working in cybersecurity roles at Lowe’s). 

Our goal is to continue expanding our reach. As mentioned earlier, we already have an issue of having to “reject” hundreds of candidates for each cohort. We are currently working to build processes and technology to better serve these adults in a similar fashion to how we serve the youth in YTAC. Our ambitious goal is to completely transform the educational opportunities of the thousands of residents in our city that have notoriously been ranked dead-last in upward mobility potential (“50 out of 50”).

The way we are measuring our progress is through the participants themselves. By having open discussions with participants before, during, and after the program, we can gauge the impact the WIN program has on their lives. We also utilize the demographics of our participants to get a sense of the diversity of those who join the program to ensure we are reaching those belonging to minority groups and underserved communities.

Four full-time employees, and about 4 contractors (depending on the time of year).

Tariq Bokhari and Pasha Maher founded the WIN program, and both individuals grew up in poor immigrant families. Both worked in private industry and have a deep understanding of how to work in technology at the top levels of successful organizations. They are able to have genuine and relatable conversations in the poorest neighborhoods while offering wisdom and experience into careers in technology. 

Erin Woodard is a current full-time employee who previously worked minimum wage jobs and is a recent graduate of the WIN program. This has allowed them to come across diverse groups in underserved communities that have had similar if not the same experiences in their lives. They also have a unique insight into the experiences of candidates that we serve through our program.

All four of our full-time employees are diverse candidates (2 Middle Eastern, one Hispanic, and one Asian female).

The major barrier we experience is having the ability to extend this opportunity to as many people as possible. In order to do so, extra funding will allow us to consider a higher volume of participants and hopefully grow the number of people within the WIN program each year. It will also allow us to improve the curriculum that is currently in place thus improving the training as well as the resources and wrap-around services we can provide to participants.

We are currently serving the population of Charlotte, NC, and surrounding areas.

Admittedly, even though we have had thousands of candidates apply for each cohort, our biggest limiting factor is the number of qualified applicants. Each cohort we tend to have more job opportunities available from our sponsors than we are able to successfully fill. I think marketing has been our greatest weakness as an organization, and we are hoping to use this money to invest in some additional marketing budget and efforts to create more compelling content and attract more qualified candidates.

PR agencies, marketing companies, content creators, or anyone who can help us spread awareness of our opportunity.