Semiconductor superhighway: Nonprofit will offer free tech training in Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – You may have heard that Western New York is on the “semiconductor superhighway.” It’s part of a federal effort to make the Thruway corridor between Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse a high-tech hub.

Buffalo has long struggled to gain footing in the tech field, largely because of a lack of trained workers. There are various groups working to change that. One such group, Per Scholas, is offering to train you in tech – for free – starting this fall.

It may seem too good to be true.

“All of the trainings that we provide are completely free,” Jeremy Besch, the managing director of Per Scholas’ Buffalo campus, said.

That’s right: free. In October, the campus inside the Larkin Building will host its first group of students for an IT Help Desk certification course.

“We have a heavy focus on providing opportunity to parts of our communities, members of our communities who typically haven’t had it,” Besch said.

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit with 23 campuses, offering courses in 18 cities. Buffalo will be campus 24.

Besch said Per Scholas started looking at Buffalo eight years ago.

The region wasn’t quite ready then. Now, Besch says it’s more than a decade into the Buffalo renaissance, coupled with the upstate tech corridor initiative.

“We’re on the precipice of having a gap of workforce availability to potentially tens of thousands of jobs,” said Besch.

So how will it work? You don’t need prior education or experience to apply. And again, there’s no cost to the learner.

“In exchange for that, we ask that our learners commit themselves fully to our program,” Besch said.

The courses are full-time, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, for 13 weeks.

“They’ll spend a lot of time in this technical classroom,” Besch said. “But when they’re not in here, we want them to feel at home in the space.”

The learners emerge with certification and support finding a job.

“We stick with our learners for two years in terms of those wraparound services,” Besch said. “So our graduates stay connected to us. We build relationships with their employers.”

A benefit for them and a benefit for Western New York’s future in tech.

“Once Buffalo has a vibrant workforce pool it certainly does make us more appealing to anybody else who wants to come here,” Besch said.

The IT Help Desk certification course is the first Per Scholas will offer, with a capacity of 22 students. Eventually, other courses will be offered, also for free.

If you’re interested in applying for the course in October you can find information here.