LaunchCode

LaunchCode is building a skilled workforce by creating pathways for driven people seeking careers in technology. We are helping jobseekers enter the tech field by providing accessible education, training and paid apprenticeship job placement. Millions of Americans are unemployed, and many more are stuck in low-wage job cycles which leave them struggling to find jobs offering livable salaries, employable skills, and a chance for advancement. American businesses also have a problem — there just isn’t enough traditional tech talent to match the growing demand. The US Department of Labor predicts this situation will only worsen, leaving 1 million programming jobs unfilled by 2020. These jobs are spread all over the economy, making products and services like your mobile phone, satellite television, and online searches just...work. Back in 2013, Square’s Jim McKelvey founded LaunchCode to address these problems. Jim experienced the lack of talent firsthand while trying to get his new company Square started in his hometown of St. Louis, MO. Eventually Jim moved Square to California for access to skilled workers, but knew there must be some way to connect the city’s rising unemployment with its shortage of tech talent. LaunchCode was founded in 2013 to help companies find skilled, new tech talent from all backgrounds and walks of life.