This week is scorching with tech activity as the hustle and bustle of SXSW is underway – hell, even President Obama is packing up his Louis Vuitton valise and joining 400k+ tech geeks in Austin. So, it came as no surprise when epic news dropped from the Administration that Atlanta was named 1 of 15 new cities adopting the TechHire Initiative.

The initiative, which launched last March, promises to help fill the gaping sinkhole between the lack of available talent and the proliferation of IT jobs. The purpose of the TechHire Initiative is to help communities find a way out of this gap by partnering with education institutions and tech businesses to effectively train and hire workers at a more rapid rate. And with Atlanta listed as a top 10 U.S. city with the greatest supply-demand gap in IT jobs, now is the perfect time to take action.

TechSquare Labs, The Iron Yard, and The Atlanta Workforce Development Agency are the trifecta behind the TechHire designation, flexing their tech intellect to ensure the initiative will not only train incoming talent at a faster rate, but solidify Atlanta as a leader in innovation, entrepreneurship, and yep, you guessed it – technology.

“We are really honored to work with the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency and the White House on this initiative to execute the goals of TechHire,” stated Lindsey Owings, campus director at The Iron Yard. “It is an opportunity to strengthen Atlanta as a tech hub, as well as help Atlanta shorten the gap in its technology employment needs.”

Chief of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at TechSquare Labs, Rodney Sampson went on to state that, “Atlanta’s designation as a White House TechHire city cements its position as the Technology Capital of the South,” and that TSL is ready to lead the charge in collaboration with Atlanta Workforce Development, and alongside employer partners like Turner, The Weather Company, Luma, Pindrop, and Springbot (to name a few).

Momentum behind TechHire will kickstart this spring, and within the next year, 100 individuals will be trained, with an upward of 400 by 2020.

“In order for our city to be competitive in an ever changing hyper-connected economy, we have to ensure local residents have access and opportunities for training and employment in the growing technology industry, and Atlanta’s designation as a TechHire city is key in our work to create more rapid IT training opportunities.” said Michael T. Sterling, Executive Director, Atlanta Workforce Development Agency. “As the workforce system for the city of Atlanta, we will work in a collaborative and unrelenting fashion with public, private, non-profit, local, state and federal partners to make certain that Atlanta’s workforce is equipped with the tools needed to navigate the innovation and entrepreneurship world.”

Interested in learning all the details of TechHire? Say no more – click here for the official White House fact sheet. And stay tuned for the latest updates on the initiative and its impact on the city which is (undoubtedly) sure to come!

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Written by Kristyn Back. Interview and Production by Kiki Roeder