Obama chooses Nashville for TechHire program

President Barack Obama has chosen Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis as partner cities for a new initiative that seeks to build more tech talent nationwide.

The $100 million program, called TechHire, will be carried out in 21 U.S. regions, bringing together businesses and schools to address the need for more software developers, cyber security experts and information technology engineers. The Nashville Technology Council will be involved in carrying out the initiative locally, as it corresponds with many of its efforts underway to support the Middle Tennessee tech sector.

"It's us working together as a community to help solve and address the talent gap problem," said Bryan Huddleston, CEO of the Nashville Technology Council, who is in Washington, D.C., for the announcement of the program and a reception at the White House.

Nationally, there are about 5 million open jobs, with more than 500,000 job openings in tech-related fields. Those jobs pay 50 percent more than average-private sector jobs, according to the White House. In Middle Tennessee, there were more than 1,300 unfilled tech positions as of 2014, up from 872 in 2013. At the same time, the area has added 2,200 technology employees in the same time period, Huddleston said, which illustrates the city's momentum in the technology sector.

"Even though we've grown, there is still a big need to fill the positions," Huddleston said.

TechHire will include efforts to build tech skills at university and community colleges, as well as at coding schools that are popping up nationally, such as the Nashville Software School. More than 300 businesses will participate in the initiative and work on new recruiting and training methods that allow people to more quickly advance in their career. Participating companies have committed to free online training programs that will serve women, minorities and veterans, populations that are underrepresented within the tech sector.

The $100 million grant competition targets employment programs that support individuals facing barriers of entry, such as those with child care responsibilities or underserved youth. The grants will be awarded next year and will be funded by H-1B visa fees, which are paid by employers and allow foreign workers to obtain jobs in the U.S.

Nashville's tech and business community has been focused on the demand for tech skills for several years, with efforts involving K-12 education and local colleges. In December, the tech council landed an $850,000 grant that will go toward connecting students to as many as 300 internships at 30 local companies, as well as building awareness at primary and secondary schools about the opportunities within the sector.

"(We are) letting students know, or someone who is a displaced worker know, there is a great career in technology, and you don't have to have a Ph.D. to get it," Huddleston said.

Technology programs in Middle Tennessee community colleges are below capacity and graduation rates hover at close to 20 percent, according to the tech council. The new program, led by Sandi Hoff, will target enrollment in tech programs at local colleges.

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Beyond the tech council, other programs are already underway to build more skills among younger residents and mid-career professionals. The Nashville Software School has been training software developers since 2012, and several businesses, including Metova, Build3 and TechnologyAdvice, have prioritized developing new talent as part of their business model. At the middle school level, a new Nashville charter school, Nashville Academy of Computer Science, teaches software programming as part of its core curriculum.

Over the past decade, the city's user group community has expanded dramatically, with groups hosting regular meetups focused on teaching one another and exploring new technology. The user group gatherings and the coding events that members have organized is another form of talent development TechHire is calling on each of its 21 cities to support.

Meanwhile, the chamber launched an awareness and recruitment campaign, WorkIT Nashville, in 2013, to help draw those with advanced tech skills to the area.

"We are seeing it grow; people are starting to notice," said Cal Evans, a Nashville software developer. "It's not just a matter of talent moving to Nashville. We are seeing more interest in the development of local talent."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.

TechHire cities include:

Louisville, Ky.

New York City

Philadelphia

Delaware

City of Kearney and Buffalo County, Neb.

Colorado

St. Louis

Salt Lake City

San Antonio

Los Angeles

Minneapolis

Kansas City

Memphis

Rural Eastern Kentucky

Nashville

Rochester, N.Y.

Detroit

San Francisco

Albuquerque

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Portland