As the Bronx Economic Development Corporation has highlighted through its Bronx Beat series in partnership with the YES Network, the borough is home to countless organizations that make it a vibrant and inspiring place to live and work. A recent segment focused on Renaissance Youth Center, which aims to educate kids on topics such as STEM, music and more outside of school.
But education in the Bronx doesn’t just reach young kids. Bronx-based non-profit Per Scholas is closing the “tech skills divide” by offering a tuition-free curriculum to adult “learners” in the borough. They offer several programs such as IT Support, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering and more. 80% of their graduates find full-time work in the tech field within one year after graduating.
A free education in New York City that can lead to a full-time role in a demanding field is hard to come by. Per Scholas is making it even more accessible by offering their courses online to increase accessibility across the five boroughs, as well as in multiple other cities across the country. In total, they are in over 20 cities and have trained over 30,000 technologists in their 30-year history.
O’Ryan English is a February 2025 graduate of Per Scholas’ IT Support program in the Bronx and has already had success as a technologist in just a few months post-grad. English became proficient in core IT concepts, including hardware and software troubleshooting, networking, operating systems and customer support—all critical skills for today’s IT professionals.
After graduating, he became fully certified and quickly secured a position at USE READY, a technology service provider contracted by Chase Bank. In his current role, he is applying the skills and knowledge gained at Per Scholas to provide IT support in a high-demand, fast-paced enterprise environment.
To apply to Per Scholas or recruit tech talent for your company, visit perscholas.org. To stay up to date on all news from the Bronx Economic Development Corporation, follow us on LinkedIn and @bx_edc on Instagram.
