A year ago, Rhonda Roman, a 35-year-old single mom, was working two jobs with no benefits, struggling to make ends meet. Today, she is working in the high-tech field as a machinist for a medical device company.
“I like what I do, and I’m good at it,” says Roman. “I’m with a great company and have good benefits and bonuses. A year ago, you couldn’t have told me I’d be where I am today.”
Roman is one of the first graduates of a new program called Transformations.
Located in Denver’s former Lowry Air Force Base, the center retrains underemployed women for jobs in technology industries.
The innovative 20-week program offers classes in computers, math, physics, electronics, graphics and communications. Students range in age from 18-58 and come from various backgrounds. Several already have a bachelor’s degree; others don’t have a high school diploma.
“Our goal is to provide students the foundation and skills they need to get a job in telecommunications, computers or high tech manufacturing,” says Mary Hillsman, director of Transformations. “Women generally don’t have the math or physics skills necessary to compete in these fields,” she says.
Transformations began in 1998–around the same time that welfare reform shook many women from the welfare rolls.
“Financial independence is the big part of a person’s ability to make changes in her life,” Hillsman says.
According to a recent study by the Information Technology Association, employers will need to fill 1.6 million new information technology jobs this year.
But due to a severe shortage of trained workers, more than 800,000 of those jobs will go unfilled. The positions most in demand are in the areas of technical support, network administration, e-commerce and interactive media.
In order to keep up with the latest technologies, Transformations is constantly adapting to the changing needs of the industry. This up-to-date training ensures that graduates come out with the latest skills.
“(Transformation graduates) have an excellent aptitude for fulfilling the types of work functions we need,” says Pete Neidecker, vice president of MedSource Technologies, a manufacturer of medical equipment. “We’re very positive about the program and its benefit to us as an employer.”
Although Transformations was originally designed to feed into university technology schools, its graduates are often hired within weeks of completing the program. Companies such as U S West, Lucent Technologies, and Mobile Tool International have hired students at salaries ranging from $18,000 to $35,000. The program’s tuition is $4,000 per student, but Hillsman says there are scholarships to cover that fee.
Hillsman believes that more high-tech retraining centers are needed. “I’d like to see this type of program replicated throughout the country,” she says. “Economic development organizations, consortiums of employers and other community organizations could all put this program to use.”
