On the morning of Jan. 12, 2017 over 80 professionals participated in the TechHire kick-off event at Carroll Community College. Participants included representatives from business, the Carroll County Public Schools, the Carroll County Public Library, the Business and Employment Resource Center, and the Community Media Center.

TechHire is a White House initiative to expand local technology sectors by building talent pipelines in communities across the country.

The college and its primary partners—the Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory, Inc. (MAGIC) and the Carroll County Career and Tech Center (CCCTC)—are uniting employers, trainers and community organizations to train and employ more than 200 local technology workers by 2020. The initiative will connect local participants in leading-edge tech training programs to a network of over 520 county employers.

The morning started with a welcome from College President Dr. James D. Ball. Then, Kati Townsley presented the Carroll Technology Council's plans for 2017. Sonya Hand, Denise Beaver and Jason Stambaugh presented more details about the TechHire initiative. They described the goals of the national initiative, what it means to be recognized as a TechHire community, the roles of those involved and the goals for the future of TechHire in our community.

The morning included a roundtable exercise facilitated by Sonya Hand. Area employers, educators and community organizations discussed the skills in highest demand in the technology field. Facilitators shared suggestions for the education community about preparing students and graduates to meet this demand.

“Vibrant, thoughtful and energetic conversations were taking place throughout the room,” said Hand, director of Corporate Solutions at the college. “Employers, educators and community organizations were engaged in real problem-solving around the issue of skills gaps improvement.”

Roundtable participants each reported a summary of their discussions. Participants said they developed a solid understanding of how TechHire can help train people for high- paying, high- demand jobs that benefit employees, employers and the community as a whole.

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