Tech901 provides adult IT training in IT Hardware, Networking, and Security. Join us for a class in 2021 , or find out more about IT careers here.
There's no denying that a lot of us had to learn the art of the pivot in 2020.
At Tech901, our mission to provide tech training moved online. We had some challenges, plenty of innovation, and truth be told: a year of successes.
Let's take a look at some of the numbers from last year.
Going Virtual
(O)nline learning presented challenges but was vital in allowing us to continue our education during a pandemic.
- B. Bowe, Tech901 Student, IT Security
Tech901 made the transition from in-person courses to virtual sessions early on in the year, allowing us to continue serving the Memphis community safely throughout the pandemic.
With our hybrid classes officially approved by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), our instructors worked with 430 students throughout 2020 across all six of our courses — Foundations, Networking, Security, IT Project, Web Programming, and Code.
Tech Careers
It's obvious that Tech901 cares a-lot about empowering locals to get jobs in tech. - B. Bolden, Tech901 student, Code 1.0
Nothing makes us prouder than when our alumni take their skills to the workforce! We had 43 new jobs to celebrate with an average salary of more than $44K — up from an average $22,000 when they started the program.
Our Tech901 alums can be found all over Memphis as repair technicians, support specialists, analysts, developers, and technicians in more than 30 of your favorite local businesses including ALSAC, Fedex, Frontdoor, St. Jude, Manpower at Flextronics, MotoTV Networks, CBRE, and Fidelity National Information Systems.
A new Memphis business, MemFi Networks, has hired many of our graduates to fill out their tech team.
Student Representation
Tech901 has proven to me that it doesn't matter if you didn't start off with a background in IT, or family that helped you get there. - D. Cannon, Tech901 student, IT Networking
We focus on building a diverse IT workforce in Memphis. In 2020, more than half of our students were people of color, and a third of all our students were women.
We were honored to graduate 272 of our students last year. We even managed 176 certifications once in-person testing was offered virtually in the second half of the year.
In celebration of our graduates, we held two virtual graduations, featuring inspirational IT career advice from FedEx's Michelle Epps and the City of Memphis CIO Kimberly Bailey.
Support
Tech901 is a no-brainer for anyone wanting to enter the Tech field. - Anon.
Of course, none of this would have been possible if we hadn't had the support of our donors. Organizations such as Slingshot, FedEx, The Assisi Foundation, First Horizon, Regions Financial Corporation, Community 365 contributed to the Tech901 mission in 2020.
Going forward, we see great things for 2021. We're looking forward to getting back into the classroom. We're even working on a brand new course, to be offered in 2022 (more on that later in the year, we promise).
Most importantly, we look forward to serving the up-and-coming IT and Programming professionals of Memphis. If you or someone you know is looking for a 2021 Resolution, a new IT career is a great place to start.