Five Talent Software Among Four Bend Companies Onboarding Apprentices

BEND, Mar. 21, 2019 - Apprenti, a nationwide tech apprenticeship program, recently launched a second cohort on Mar. 11 in partnership with the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO). Four hiring partners are bringing on eight software developers in Bend, an ever-growing tech market that is experiencing increased demand for filling technical jobs. Apprenti is designed to provide participants paid training that prepares them for mid-level roles.

“I am thrilled that Apprenti is a success in Central Oregon, and with five companies now participating, we have been able to get 13 people into the program that will start them on their way to an amazing career,” says Teri Hockett, TAO’s VP of Central Oregon. “As my passion lies in helping diversify the talent pool in tech, Apprenti has proved itself as a valuable tool. Of the 1200 applicants from around the US, 23% are women, 43% veterans, and 56% minorities.”

TAO partnered with Heather Ficht and Stefanie Siebold of East Cascades Works to organize the Apprenti program. EC Works plays an integral role in securing funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and sourcing and recruiting candidates.

Five Talent, a software and infrastructure solutions company, doubled its recent cohort to four apprentices, and other Bend-based organizations including Navis, BMS Technologies and Smartz have signed on to partake in the recent cohort. TAO is currently recruiting hiring partners for its third Apprenti cohort, which is set to launch in September.

“Five Talent’s future growth depends heavily on our ability to recruit highly-skilled software developers in a tight labor market,” explains CEO Preston Callicott. “We also recognized early on Five Talent needed to onboard more junior talent and have our seasoned developers provide in-house training regimens. When TAO and East Cascade Works approached us to help bring the successful Apprenti program into our state, a proven pipeline for well-trained junior developers in Seattle, we eagerly jumped on board. Initially, we viewed it as a beta-test and signed up for three apprentices.

“We were impressed by Apprenti’s candidate vetting process for fit to our culture and our hard and soft-skill requirements. After onboarding them into our company, we quickly realized the Apprenti training regimen works! Our Apprenti Junior Developers quickly proved to us they were more than capable and exceeded all our requirements and expectations. We will be long-term partners with Apprenti.”

Prior to working as a paid apprentice, participants must complete a five-month training session consisting of introductory to advanced software development and coding courses.

For more information about how to get involved with Apprenti in Bend, please contact Teri Hockett.