Tech-Moms Receives Grant From Talent Ready Utah to Support Women Returning to the Workforce

July 30, 2024, Salt Lake City, Utah

Tech-Moms has been awarded a Talent Ready Utah grant to support workforce returners in Utah.

Tech-Moms is a nine-week program helps women with diverse education degrees, career levels, and marital statuses, learn skills, receive training, and gain insight into the tech industry. 

Participating women are introduced to coding skills including HTML, CSS, Javascript and other programming languages. They attend presentations and seminars on cybersecurity, digital marketing, quality assurance, technical sales, product management, and more. The program mentors each student through their transition into the industry. 

Since 2020, Tech-Moms has facilitated the return of women to the workforce, especially those who paused their careers for caregiving. It has equipped more than 500 women with modern workforce skills, enabling them to pursue promising new career paths.

With the support of this grant, Tech-Moms can expand this impactful program and continue making a difference in the lives of women across Utah.

“We are excited about this opportunity to expand the work we are already doing by creating formal pathways for returners to work at our organization. The Return to Work grant from Talent Ready Utah is a perfect fit for our vision of supporting those who are returning to work,” said Mikel Blake, Tech-Moms’ Executive Director. 

In collaboration with the Lieutenant Governor’s Initiative Return Utah, Tech-Moms has emerged as a state leader in private return-to-work programs. Tech-Moms’ comprehensive workforce re-entry efforts include: 

• A two-part online course: Developed in partnership with the Utah Women & Leadership Project, this course is tailored to women relaunching their careers. 
• Better Way Thursdays YouTube series: This series features more than 35 virtual workshops that offer support and tips to empower women to re-enter the workforce. 
• Monthly networking events: Offering in-person and online options, these events provide returners with opportunities to build professional networks.
• Community communications channel: This shared platform allows individuals looking to rejoin the workforce to access resources, seek advice, find mentors and draw inspiration from those who have successfully navigated their return to work. 

Tech-Moms works with more than 100 employers who recognize and value the unique experience and maturity returners bring to the workforce. Tech-Moms assists employers in designing effective return-to-work programs and roles, attracting returners and setting them up for career success. Through this collaborative effort, hundreds of Utahns have successfully re-entered the workforce after a break. 

See previous TechBuzz News coverage of the Tech-Moms program.