HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — NewForce, Generation West Virginia’s six-month, fully-remote, tuition-free software development training program for West Virginia residents is accepting applications for the next week.
The software development program connects graduates with employers in the Mountain State who are ready to hire. This year’s group will be its sixth cohort of students.
NewForce is a partnership between Generation West Virginia, Mountwest Community and Technical College and the West Virginia Community and Technical College System.
“What it does is help people who have no coding experience whatsoever, be able to get really great jobs as junior coders at companies in West Virginia like IBM, Mountain Leverage and Core 10. Just with this intense six-month training,” Alex Weld, executive director of Generation West Virginia told MetroNews.
NewForce provides tech training to West Virginians from all kinds of backgrounds including customer service workers, teachers, fast food workers, house painters, parents, and accountants. No coding experience is required to apply, a release said.
Weld said the program has garnered much attention around the Mountain State with 100 to 150 applications every cohort. Weld said the program only accepts between 20 to 25 per group.
“As the success of this program is getting more and more known, the interest has increased,” she said.
Weld said the idea for coding came from employer conversations about what was needed in the state. She said employers did not have a place to go to find the positions inside West Virginia’s borders.
According to a press release from Generation West Virginia, more than 85% of job-seeking graduates of the program have found employment in software development with West Virginia-based employers within six months of graduating. The average salary of all NewForce graduates is $46,000.
“This job is the perfect type of job that people are looking for where they can live in their community, be in their home and still have access to a really great job anywhere in West Virginia,” Weld said.
Applications for cohort six close on April 15. Classes begin at the end of May.
We’re teaming up with dreamers and doers across the state to clear paths. To build fulfilling communities and careers throughout the Mountain State.
Explore how you can a part of the next generation of tech: https://t.co/7NCr6raON7
Apps for the sixth NewForce cohort close 4/15 pic.twitter.com/TF1ZgL2BfH— Generation West Virginia (@GenerationWV) April 6, 2022