JobTech will implement a scalable and replicable model for creating jobs with livable wages in low-income communities served by community technology centers (CTCs). The JobTech program will be tested and developed in Houston utilizing a shared fiber loop installed between participating CTCs. Then the program will be made available to selected sites across the U.S. with the capacity to replicate this innovative use of technology as an economic development tool in low-income urban and rural communities.
The project will target older youth and adults with limited educational attainment and job skills, who historically have been at the bottom of the wage scale. Through the creation of a virtual private network, work will be delivered from corporate customers to the computer desktops of CTC participants. Replicable training models will prepare persons for virtual jobs created within walking distance of home.
The objective of this multiple site demonstration project is to increase the number of livable wage jobs in low-income communities by building upon existing community technology capacity. JobTech will encourage economic investment in low-income communities and create sustainability for the project by bringing together public, private and non-profit entities in multiple locations. Initially, a minimum of forty livable wage jobs will be created at four CTCs in three low-income communities. The program will then develop a scalable, replicable, and sustainable business model for job creation in low-income communities.
This demonstration will create an annual estimated payroll of $1 million with an economic impact of over $4 million and create income to sustain the project. Technology For All (TFA) will partner with TFA-Houston's Mission Milby CTC; two CTCs in The Heights CommuniPOP; the East Side Village Community Learning Center in Houston's Third Ward; Dimension 4, a document conversion company; the Houston Area Technology Advancement Center; the Telecom Opportunity Institute; Houston's STREET U workforce development initiative; the Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Decision Information Resources; and several supportive organizations including the University of Houston College of Technology, LULAC National Educational Service Center, Houston Independent School District and Houston Community College.
