It’s a time to celebrate the holidays and look forward to the opportunities of a new year!
In this last NTC email newsletter of 2020, you’ll notice we’re highlighting opportunities for you to give back for the holidays, and plan ahead to engage more in 2021:
There are students looking pathways into tech careers and you can help engage them in the WCS + Junior Achievement Career Fair;
Could you help others become more tech literate in 2021 – check out Project Return’s opportunity;
Youth Villages are looking for tech support for children exiting foster care; and
We are looking to place a diverse group of newly-minted IT Infrastructure Support Professionals in a tech job – are you looking to hire?
We’re highlighting black owned business members and members who are giving back to help our community rebounding from the 2020 tornado and COVID – if you’re looking for support or to support, check it out.
Looking for a new 2021 opportunity yourself? There are local tech businesses who have open job posts listed further down in this email, too.
See the details below for ways you can give back now, get help, find a new opportunity, and engage to make 2021 an amazing new year for Middle Tennessee’s tech community!
WCS + Junior Achievement Student Virtual Career Fair
“Project Return is an organization dedicated to helping people live a full and free life after incarceration. We equip our participants with job readiness skills and help them secure and retain employment. One of our job readiness classes is computer literacy.
This is a weekly, rudimentary course around the basics of setting up an email account, using job search sites, and avoiding phishing scams. We hold this class for our participants every Wednesday from 3:15-4:30. Individual volunteers would not be expected to teach every week, and we can work out what you’re able to commit to when you reach out.
Let me know if you’re interested!
This is an in person volunteer opportunity, and we are very serious about our COVID safety precautions. This includes a mandatory face mask policy, face shields when necessary, markers for social distancing whenever possible, and plexiglass barriers. If you’re interested in this opportunity, I can send you the full text of our safety plan and answer any questions you may have.”
Youth Villages Technology Needs for Youth Exiting Foster Care
Youth Villages, a local nonprofit organization that helps children with emotional, behavior and mental health issues live successfully throughout Middle Tennessee, including youth in the child welfare system. The LifeSet program serves young people aging out of the foster care system by helping them with housing, education, employment and independent living skills they need to become successful.
The youth in the LifeSet program have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these youth have lost their housing, their jobs (mostly in the service industry) and new barriers interfering with their education. The sudden shift to online learning has created a new set of technology needs for our young people. Not only devices such as laptops and tablets, but also internet access needs have skyrocketed.
Many of our youth relied on internet access on campus or at public places that are now closed or unsafe due to COVID-19. Most of these youth do not have vehicles so using parking lots to access public Wi-Fi becomes a challenge and safety issue. A few of our youth have had the cops called on them for loitering when they were just trying to access public internet from the library/Starbucks/McDonald’s to complete an online class from their mobile phones.
Our biggest need is laptops…42 laptops to be exact for LifeSet youth accessing higher education in Middle Tennessee. New laptops are preferred, but gently used laptops would be welcomed as well. If you would like to make a donation to help purchase the laptops and Microsoft office for the LifeSet youth, please make an online donation here (put laptops in the comment section). For more information regarding this request, contact Lyndsay Wilkinson at Lyndsay.wilkinson@youthvillages.org
On October 2nd, these 10 students completed the IT Infrastructure Support Professional program as part of the Go Tech initiative -funded by the GIVE grant – designed to diversify and grow tech talent. We are proud and they are pumped to get started!
Is your organization ready to launch these great new candidates into a tech career? Sign up now to learn more!
Connect with Black Founded / Owned / Led Organizations
Are you looking for new ways to learn more about and engage with black founded, owned, or led organizations? We’re highlighting this group in the NTC Member Directory, click the link below.
Essential Links for Help in the Greater Nashville Community
We’re encouraging our members to find their unique ways to give back during this difficult time. So many members have found ways to do just that, and we’d like to help share information with the greater Nashville tech community.
Click on a link below to learn more or add your organization’s offers!
Share your news and press releases too! It’s as easy as filling out this form, telling us the details of your announcement, and we’ll help to post the news to our website, spread the word on social, and push it out in our newsletter. Need help contacting local news outlets? We can help with that, too!
Log in to the NTC Member Portal
Have you checked out the NTC Member Portal recently? We have posted the videos in the Resources area from recent Tech Talks and Virtual Events and as we produce more virtual events, you can find videos in the Member Portal.
Is your organization is hiring? Find a new list of job seekers who have recently been displaced. Job seekers can find jobs posted by NTC member companies.
Update your personal profile, your company profile (update your logos or company addresses), post a special member-only offer, or learn about other NTC members. So…
Do you have Services or Products that Could Be Useful to Help Member Organizations During the COVID19 Pandemic or Help People Rebound and go Back to Work? Please Add Your Offer in the Member Portal.
The NTC has partnered with the 401(k) Tech Collective to provide a 401(k) offering to our members. This is a national retirement program built by our colleagues at the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), a fellow tech association, and has been constructed specifically for tech organizations.
WANT TO PARTNER WITH NTC?
For companies interested in forming partnerships to provide exclusive offerings to NTC members, please fill out this form and a representative from the NTC will be in touch. For members that want to offer limited-time discounts on products and/or services, add your member-only offer by logging into the Member Portal now.
Employers: are you looking for a few good women and men? Here’s your opportunity to put some amazing talent to work right now. Log into the NTC Member Portal NOW!
View submitted Resumes from Job Seekers: click on”Resources” in the top row of buttons, then scroll down to download the “Talent Seeking Work (updated)” PDF with the latest job seeker submissions. See the image below for where to click (the link may be on the second page of resources):
If you are looking for a new opportunity after being recently displaced, the NTC would like to help by sharing your resume and details with 500+ tech community members. Click the button below to submit your details now!
Once we receive your resume, you will be invited to the #jobseeker Slack community and soon added to our “Community Member” account in NTC’s Member Portal so you can access our events calendar, job postings, membership directory, as well as any other member-only material at no cost during this period of transition.
FOR FURTHER PROMOTION, THE NTC CAN PROVIDE A FEATURED HIGHLIGHT FOR YOUR TECH JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NEWSLETTER AND SOCIAL MEDIA. LEARN MORE ABOUT NTC PROMOTIONS HERE AND SUBMIT YOUR FEATURED JOBS HERE.
