As industries evolve, nearly every organization needs more tech talent to keep up with the dynamics of rapid change. The skills candidates need in these roles – knowing how to write code, for example – can be a challenge to attain. Programming isn’t taught in many high schools, and barriers such as income keep so many smart, creative people from pursuing higher education credentials.
Twin Cities business leaders know community solutions are required to move the Minnesota tech economy and workforce forward, and Saint Paul, in particular, is brimming with those solutions, powered by vision and collaboration across the public and private sectors.
Seemingly every month, a new program to train people for tech careers or an event for startup entrepreneurs is announced. Full Stack Saint Paul is behind many of these efforts. The collaborative of city government, Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and private organizations has focused on driving sustainable, equitable economic development in the area since 2018, and its successes are changing lives.
Full Stack’s goals are to launch the next generation of tech talent, connect business leaders with that talent, and power platforms and places where tech entrepreneurs can have creative collisions that benefit them, businesses and the community.
Here are a few ways collaboration is advancing the innovation economy in Saint Paul.
Developing the tech workforce
Myriad programs are connecting future job candidates with tech skills in Saint Paul. Technology jobs can sustain families, with the estimated median annual wage of $96,400, which is 106% higher than the overall state median wage.
The need for workforce development is strong. A 2022 report by the Minnesota Technology Association found the state will need to fill 81,503 IT jobs over the next 10 years as people retire or leave the field. Minnesota ranks 46th in projected tech employment growth over the decade, and 50th out of 50 states in the percentage of high schools offering computer science courses (21% in the state versus 53% nationally).
The City of Saint Paul, under the leadership of Mayor Melvin Carter, and Ramsey County are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in programs such as MSP TechHire and Techquity to help businesses meet demand and open the doors to tech careers for underrepresented community members. Just 2.2% of IT workers in Minnesota identify as Hispanic or Latinx, 3.8% Black and 22% women, according to the tech association report.
Legacy hiring requirements such as specifying a bachelor’s degree will need to change, said Ling Becker, director of workforce solutions for Ramsey County and Full Stack Steering Committee member. Around the country, a four-year degree isn’t required in many places to hold tech jobs, while in Minnesota, it is more often the case, Becker said. “One of the things we’re constantly working on is having very concrete and intentional conversations with employers about hiring barriers and hiring requirements,” she said, “while also trying to train more people into certifications or other pathways into the industry.”
Early next year, three cohorts of 10 Ramsey County residents ages 18 to 30 will kick off the Learn and Earn tech training program by Software for Good and New Vision Foundation. The program, for people of color and taught by people of color, will take participants through a six-month software engineering bootcamp followed by six months working at Software for Good.
The program is funded with $1.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars awarded by Saint Paul and Ramsey County and Full Stack Steering Committee member. Finding permanent job placements for graduates is the next thing on the list, said Sharon Kennedy Vickers, CEO of Software for Good and Full Stack Steering Committee member.
“We want to build relationships with companies that share our mission of making sure individuals coming out of this program can get connected,” said Vickers, who is the former CIO for the City of Saint Paul.
The community at large stands to benefit from the “brilliance and lived experience of this diverse group of individuals,” she said. “We encode our biases into the technology and tools that we build. By having a diverse group of software engineers building these tools, we start to eliminate some of that bias.”
Such programs are expensive, and that’s another place business leaders can play a role, Vickers said. “If we are going to meet the demand for tech talent that we need to stay competitive as a region, it’s going to be important for corporations, government and philanthropic entities to come together and make investments in the future workforce.”
There is tremendous energy around creating a more vibrant tech economy in Saint Paul and Ramsey County, Ling said. “The table is set and there are people engaged at the table. That’s important because nothing’s going to get done unless there’s public-private partnership.”
In addition to the new program for diverse tech talent, there are in-house training programs at Fortune 100 companies in the region, such as Target and UnitedHealthcare, and Twin Cities startup Black Tech Talent just opened its new headquarters in Saint Paul to connect professionals in the field.
For school-aged individuals who want to learn tech skills, the Tech Geeks program by after-school resource center 30,000 Feet offers paid training in coding, websites, apps and game-building to 14- to 18-year-olds. They can move into apprenticeships and careers after that.
A vibrant community of entrepreneurs
Forbes ranked the Twin Cities in the top 10 places in the country for young professionals, and a study by the Lensa job search engine placed Minnesota among the top 10 states to launch a startup, finding Minnesota had one of the highest business survival rates (8.68%), second only to Massachusetts.
Saint Paul is certainly contributing to that momentum with business accelerators and incubators including Techstars, University Enterprise Labs, Lunar Startups, Bootstrappers and OnRamp Insurance.
Beginning in September, the Bridgemakers’ Tech Entrepreneur Fellowship by Full Stack Saint Paul will launch a six-month cohort program for young tech-focused entrepreneurs who face resourcing challenges. The founders, ages 18 to 25, will gain access to mentorship, a rigorous curriculum and a stipend of $1,200 per month for living expenses, plus $5,000 for the development of their businesses.
Meanwhile, the Center for Economic Inclusion in Saint Paul has launched the Vanguard Accelerator and grant program to support Black-, Indigenous- and Latina-owned businesses with capital, coaching, technical help and assistance in finding space. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has committed $6 million to the effort, which includes the ability for founders participating in the incubator program to access forgivable loans.
Eli Maloley, a native of northern California, moved with his family to Minnesota, where his wife grew up, in 2010. He used his experience in the tech industry to launch Vivacity Tech, a public benefit corporation (PBC) serving more than 2,000 school districts nationwide with Chromebook repairs and accessories. To maintain its business status as a PBC, Vivacity sends a portion of its profits to education centers and schools.
Vivacity routinely makes technology donations around the country, including in Saint Paul, and city officials and Full Stack have reciprocated with invitations to speak on panels, visits by the mayor to the company’s headquarters and engagement at Twin City Startup Week, Maloley said.
“I think the city has really done a lot to amplify our voice and really bolster our presence in the region. And that’s something that I’m just extremely proud of,” he said. “I can’t imagine there’s too many communities out there that would go to the extent that Saint Paul has to really boost local tech entrepreneurs, especially ones just trying to get off the ground and in a market dominated by multibillion-dollar, longstanding companies.”
Find the original article from Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.