Strategy #2: Create a Community-Based Ecosystem of Support
Making coding easier to learn is only half the battle; we also need to reduce the gap between tech and communities. To do so we need to create an ecosystem of community-oriented support.
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Harness the Power of Community in the way we provide training and support. For example:
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Create Multiple On-Ramps, especially in community institutions such as churches or beauty parlors, where people can explore the idea of coding and put their toes in the water while surrounded by people they know and trust
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Create Peer-To-Peer Support and other forms of community-based learning in order to overcome insecurity, psychological barriers – e.g., seeing oneself as someone who works with their hands – and uncertainty
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Operate at Scale, using national nonprofit networks and other approaches to take advantage of combining resources across communities
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Explore Collaborations between Communities and Corporations in creating a rich ecosystem of support that can address overlapping needs, helping to both underwrite community support and create informal connections that can lead to opportunities for jobs and creating small businesses
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Build A Better Bridge Between Training And Work so all the hard work and sacrifice that goes into getting trained pays off. The report discusses strategies ranging from exploring creating apprenticeships to helping rural and other communities where tech jobs are scarce find ways to kickstart their local emerging tech economy
Next: Harness the Power of Community Support and Training
Last: Strategy #1: Smooth the Learning Curve