Scaling Systematic Impact in Miami-Dade County
Long regarded as the gateway to Latin America, Miami has emerged as a thriving new tech hub. Miami-Dade County recognized an opportunity to help local residents take advantage of the growing tech landscape through an innovative cross-industry partnership with non-profit, corporate, and government: The county partnered with CodePath — through support from the Knight Foundation and JP Morgan Chase — to help Miami students advance their careers in tech.
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The Challenge
Closing the Gap
Miami’s development as a tech hub coincides with a rising cost of living for locals. At the same time, more than 65% of Greater Miami residents identify as Black, Hispanic or Latino, yet of all South Florida tech employees, these groups make up only 12% and 27%, respectively, and only 26% identify as female. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of tech jobs remain unfilled nationally, including many in Miami.
Miami-Dade County wanted to help connect established tech companies and new startups alike to high-quality local tech talent and provide local residents with opportunities to gain in-demand skills to enter the tech industry. They were looking for a partner to provide high-quality skills development and to connect these two audiences – providing talent for employers while allowing residents to grow their careers in their hometown.
“Miami is a startup hub. It’s an amazing place to live and work, the quality of life is really good, there’s a lot of great talent coming in and rising homegrown talent – a perfect storm for the tech boom to happen,” said William Porro, assistant director of Miami Dade County’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development.
The Solution
Empowering Miami Students in Tech
CodePath’s Pathways to Tech program provides a wide range of offerings to Miami students, including a technical interview prep intensive, for-credit web development courses at local colleges, and paid work opportunities facilitated between employers and aspiring engineers. CodePath’s career center also provides additional tools, connections, and guidance for students to succeed in tech, including the internship connection program — a 10-week program for students to land their first technical internship — and technical internships for Sophomores sponsored by tech giants like Meta and Salesforce..
CodePath built partnerships with local colleges and universities, including Florida International University, Miami-Dade College, and Florida Memorial University. In June 2023, Miami-Dade County hosted a demo day where four alumni teams pitched mobile app ideas to local executives and community leaders, and were awarded funds and resources.
Most importantly, Miami-area students report positive experiences and successful careers after their CodePath experiences.
Sebastian Nunez, a Florida International University student and Miami-Dade College alum said, “As an immigrant and first-generation college student, my path into tech and software engineering was not clear.” Though he was always interested in tech, he needed hands-on experience.
With the help of CodePath’s Internship Connection Program, Android Development, Technical Interview Prep course, and Advanced Web Development courses, Nunez forged a successful path into tech, gaining internship positions at Google, Apple and JP Morgan Chase. Since breaking into tech, his yearly income has increased by 300%. “To my fellow Black and Latino/a computer science students, you don’t have to do it alone,” he said.
COMMUNITY, MENTORSHIP AND SUPPORT FOR TECH EXCELLENCE
“Thanks to CodePath, our community is taking a big step forward towards tech excellence and building a more inclusive and diverse economy that delivers for all our residents.”
“Miami is a one-of-a-kind place. With CodePath providing layers of support for residents and institutions, I believe we’ll change the course of Miami’s history by creating an equitable Miami that allows locals to work and thrive in the city we love so much. As a first-generation Latina in technology — and an alum of Florida International University — it’s been a highlight of my career to lead this work locally in Miami.”
Diversity at Scale
25 students participated in 2021; due to solid performance, Workday scaled the program to another 34 participants in 2022; 32% Black, 50% Latinx, 32% women-identified, and 74% low-income
Broader University Network for Hiring
Students represented 25 universities, including Georgia State University, Miami Dade College, CUNY - Lehman, and NJIT
1:1 Mentorship With Engineering
Students were paired 1:1 with Workday's engineering team as mentors
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"I learned how important communication is, not only in your career but in life in general. I communicated with instructors, mentors, peers in the program, and invitees who taught us about a specific part of tech. I learned that there are so many different careers in tech, whether you like art, research, data/numbers, security, etc. Talking to everyone I encountered during this program helped broaden my mind for the numerous opportunities I have in this industry and helped me realize how important diversity is in my life."
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“The best part of the program was working with like-minded individuals committed to continuous self-improvement and learning new technologies that will help me further my goals. Interacting with my mentor, the CodePath TA team, the Workday staff, and my fellow interns gave me the hands-on experience I needed to feel more confident in my future. This program provided me with critical feedback on ideas that accelerated my growth professionally.”