This January, NuPaths celebrated its 3-year anniversary of offering IT workforce development training for the growing career opportunities in information and business technology. NuPaths was established in 2018, in partnership with Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, to address the IT employment gap that exists in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and provide a path for people to earn a good wage to support themselves and their families.
By providing an alternative to traditional degree programs, those with no prior IT experience now have access to quality education and resources to start a technology career in 6 months, at a fraction of the cost and time needed for a college degree. Programs are designed to train both adults and high school seniors. Students can earn up to 6 industry certifications to start their technology career and up to 8 college credits to continue their post-secondary education, if they choose to do so in the future.
What began as a pilot group of local high school students, quickly launched into a full-service program in the Cumberland Valley High School curriculum by the fall of 2018. NuPaths then expanded its offerings to adult learners in December 2018, a Philadelphia location in the fall of 2019, and online distance learning programs in 2020.
Over the past three years, NuPaths has accomplished many milestones. We would like to share a few highlights.
Our Accomplishments
Since 2018, NuPaths has served more than 200 students, including both adult and high school learners. During this time, students earned 500+ industry-recognized certifications and 1000+ college credits. More importantly, there is an 82% job placement rate for NuPaths graduates. In that same time, NuPaths has partnered with 12 workforce development boards, numerous CareerLink offices, and 25 different school districts across Pennsylvania. And this is only the beginning! NuPaths looks forward to exponentially expanding its growth of students, schools, community partnerships, course offerings, locations served, and tuition funding sources in the coming years.
Diversity of Students Served
NuPaths fosters a diverse community of learners, provides access and support to students who want to pursue a career in technology, and supports business creation and economic development.
More than half (54%) of our student population is composed of individuals of color including black or African American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Native American, or a mix of two or more races. And, 24% of NuPaths students are female.
Students also come with diverse backgrounds that include unemployed or underemployed; having some college experience; veterans, reentrants (corrections), underserved minorities; those looking to upskill or career transition; and high school students. This mixed background of skill, life experiences, and ethnicity creates a robust learning environment where students not only learn from the coursework, but from one another as well. Students also learn from industry professionals who have work experience in the topics they teach.
In their own words, hear what our students have to say about their experience gaining job and life skills through our NuPath’s courses.
When asked "What level of impact do you anticipate the NuPaths program will have on your future career success?" 95% of NuPaths graduates indicated a high impact or very high impact!
Funding & Support
Tuition support is a critical piece of student access and success. A total of 96% of NuPaths students receive some form of tuition support. Over the past three years, NuPaths has successfully received funding from workforce development boards (WIOA funds), multiple PA smart grants awarded by the PA Department of Labor & Industry, and many corporate partners like JEVS Human Services, Orrstown Bank, and Capital Blue Cross.
Our goal is to support every student with options for tuition assistance, which is why we are diligent about seeking out funding opportunities and are committed to being good stewards of these resources.
The Power of Partnership
NuPaths is part of a workforce development ecosystem with many partners who help us develop top-quality IT programs, mentor and guide hundreds of high school and adult students through our programs and assist them with career services and job placement to deliver the best possible outcomes.
Our partners are the backbone of our mission. On this milestone, we thank our co-founding partner Harrisburg University of Science & Technology for its strategic and logistic support, employers who have provided opportunities to our students and helped us design programs, workforce development partners and other government agencies that have subsidized the tuition, high school partners, our dedicated faculty, our students, and our staff who have made this happen.
We invite everyone who believes in our mission and is interested in partnering to contact us today to start a conversation. We have many advancements on the horizon which will take NuPaths to the next level in the coming months and years. As a partner, you will get to share in the celebration of future growth and the success of our students and grads with us!
We are proud of the growth and accomplishments NuPaths, its students and its partners have experienced over the last three years and are excited about the future!
