Tech Impact, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that helps other nonprofits leverage technology to make a greater impact, is launching a free, 16-week immersive IT training program for 18- to 26-year-olds in Las Vegas this February.
The Information Technology Workforce Program (ITWorks) partners with Fortune 500 companies such as Capital One, Barclays and JP Morgan to provide relevant IT training, mentorships, internships and job opportunities for unemployed and underemployed 18- to 26-year-olds.
Las Vegas-based Link Technologies will partner with ITWorks to provide mentors for students and internships and jobs for graduates.
“Not only do ITWorks students receive training and internships, they also meet mentors in the field who are willing and able to help them and want to see them succeed,” CEO Debbie Banko said in a statement. “This supportive network changes the way students view their success and gives them the added motivation to accomplish their career goals.”
ITWorks has graduated more than 200 students since its inception in 2010.
All graduates receive the Cisco IT Essentials Professional Certification, and approximately 80 percent of graduates also receive the CompTIA A+ Professional Certification.
“The number of unemployed and underemployed youth in Las Vegas is staggering, especially if you consider the deep well of local opportunities in information technology,” Tech Impact’s executive director Patrick Callihan said in a statement. “We see a great opportunity to put youth on the path for a meaningful career in IT, and we’re excited to get started with our first class next year.”
ITWorks is now accepting applications online for its first Las Vegas class, which will begin February 2016.
Applications for the Las Vegas program are being accepted at http://bit.ly/1OSGSPy.
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PigOut in Vegas
PigOut, a Canadian mobile catering concept, is eyeing Las Vegas for its next location.
The company, which launched in 2008 by Alan and Anne Dickson, partners with event management and entertainment companies for affairs ranging from 20 to 10,000-plus people.
PigOut’s 16-foot trailer houses a roaster and walk-in refrigerator as well as prep areas and heavy-duty catering equipment.
According to Anne Dickson, the couple chose Las Vegas as the company’s next market expansion due to its climate, demographics and the amount of events in the area.
“We knew that we needed to move where there’s demand year-round, and Las Vegas is the perfect place for us,” she said in a statement.
PigOut operates seven locations in Ontario, Canada.
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Fitch cautious on CCSD
Clark County School District’s reorganization plan could present midterm credit risks, according to Fitch Ratings.
District reorganization plans might present uncertainties for bondholders because as property taxes, potential limits of future bond issuance and operating environments of the smaller districts are unknown.
Nevada Assembly Bill 394 requires that an advisory committee submit a plan to reorganize the CCSD to the State Board of Education by Jan. 1, 2017. The bill requires the committee to consider a number of issues, including equitable funding, the authority to issue bonds and raise revenues, and personnel contracts and collective bargaining.
Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky outlined a proposal to break the district into seven local precincts. The plan calls for continued centralization of operational departments with each precinct having flexibility on instructional issues. Under either a true district division or a hybrid scenario, Fitch expects outstanding debt to continue to be payable from the current levy that includes the taxable property of the entire school district.
However, Fitch said new entities could emerge, each with a portion of the tax base and with potentially different tax rates. Depending upon the size and scope of the potential reorganization, precincts could have different operational aspects, including management and financial policies and practices.
A reorganization plan could also affect the recent reauthorization of the district’s 10-year, $4.1 billion rolling bond program under which taxable property is assessed at 55 cents per $100 of assessed value. The program comes after several years in which the district lacked the capacity to issue bonds and in response to continued deferred maintenance and a backlog of new construction needs.
In 2007, a Utah district reorganization broke the Jordan School District into two districts. The new district, Canyons School District, began operations in 2010 under a separate school board. Following modest credit uncertainty at the time of the break-up, Fitch’s ratings recognize the strength of each district’s operations and the tax base from which the bonds are repaid.
Bonds issued prior to the breakup continue to be payable from the proceeds of unlimited ad valorem taxes levied on the taxable property of the prior combined district. Each district’s separate tax levy for the debt is set according to the size of their respective annual debt service repayment. The resulting revenues are restricted solely for the purpose of repaying those bonds, alleviating bondholders’ midterm risks of the reorganization. Any other use would be against state law.
