MSP had been recognized as one of the hottest tech markets in the country. Great companies doing interesting work make it a magnet for tech talent and tech companies. The Greater Minneapolis Saint Paul region will take another step toward accelerating the availability of tech talent in the market.
The region will expand its existing role as one of the national testing grounds for a White House initiative aimed at training more people for information technology jobs.
President Obama announced the program expansion, citing the need to get people without traditional IT backgrounds into the field, which pays 50 percent more than average occupations, according to the Star Tribune.
Minnesota’s piece of the president’s TechHire program will be an expansion of tech training programs at three MSP educational facilities that aim to prepare 300 people for entry-level computer software jobs this year.
Prime Digital Academy, IT-Ready and Concordia University’s computer boot camps will teach the skills. Businesses across the region — including 3M, Target Corp., Thomson Reuters, Best Buy and Wells Fargo — have committed to provide the jobs.
Other efforts in the Greater MSP region to boost the tech talent pool:
- The Nerdery launched Prime Digital Academy in 2014. This 12-week training course aims to grow the region's presence of software engineers.
- GREATER MSP's Make It. MSP. effort is working to help employers find additional channels and networks of tech talent.
- The annual Tech Cities conference at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management last month aims to make the state the tech capital of the north.
The Minnesota Medical Manufacturing Partnership supported a tech training application.