NEWS
B Y K E L LY K E N O Y E R
C H A R U PA S T E R N A K A N D H E R C B T N U G G E T S C R E W
JOB PROGRAMS FOR PROGRAMMERS
Tech companies want local students to fill their job openings
T
here are 418 tech companies registered in Lane
County, and many of them are hiring, according to
Allison Weatherly, the event coordinator for Tech-
nology Association of Oregon (TAO). She says
most of these tech companies are looking to shop
local when they’re hiring, so several programs are setting
up Lane County high school students to train for these jobs.
Pointing to the TAO site that links to tech companies to
prospective employees, Weatherly says, “Techoregon.org/
jobs will showcase all the tech companies that are here in
Lane County.” Programs like Apprenti, a new tech appren-
ticeship program, are built to help students in high school
forge a path into these higher-paying tech jobs.
Heidi Larwick is the director of Connected Lane Coun-
ty, the organization that runs Elevate Lane County. That
program aims to “create opportunities for students to have
work learning or career connected learning,” she says.
“The program started focused on high school but we’re
slowly also moving into the middle school space,” Larwick
adds. Elevate started with a focus on tech jobs (though
it now includes industry and will soon expand to health
care), and includes internships, job shadows, industry tours
and career fairs. The program serves 16 school districts and
“47,000 students” in Lane County, according to Larwick.
Students interested in pursuing tech jobs can get started
in high school and get more training at Lane Community
College. Larwick says that a third of the tech jobs in Lane
County may hire high school graduates if they have the
right training. “They need to be able to solve problems on
their own, they need to be a reliable team member, they
need to have good communication skills and be curious
and willing to learn,” she says.
Another third of the local tech jobs available (more than
Charu Pasternak 400 total, according to a recent City Club
of Eugene program) require a bachelor’s degree and an-
other third require a few years of college. One program
Larwick highlighted is the LCC computer information
technology program. “That’s a two year program and they
can learn about computer applications, computer support,
application development and programming and website
development,” she says, adding that the last two on that list
are in high demand.
Matt Sayre, director of TAO in the southern Willa-
mette Valley, says one student developed a passion for the
tech industry after attending a TAO event and meeting a
few people at CBT Nuggets, a local tech company. “Nine
months from zero, no training, to current day, he’s now
talking to them about how he can work part-time and con-
tinue his education at LCC.”
With companies opening their doors for students to job
shadow or intern, Sayre says “Kids can get the skills they
need to get into high wage, high demand occupations.” He
points to jobs programs offered in the county, like Apprenti.
“It’s a way for the growing tech sector and the growth there
to be inclusive, so that economic prosperity is for everyone.
This rising tide truly will raise all boats,” Sayre says.
CBT Nuggets is one of those hiring companies. Accord-
ing to software engineer Charu Pasternak, the company
creates video tutorials to teach IT skills. “You get the basic
foundation for IT or any career in the university, but then
you need an additional push to get the certifications so you
can get the really nice jobs,” she says. CBT Nuggets helps
people attain these certifications. The company grew from
the two founders in 1999 to over 150 employees today, she
says.
Pasternak has been at CBT Nuggets for two and a half
years, and she says, “We literally live the culture that we
try to sell to our customers because all the employees with-
in the company are required to train.”
“Every day I go into work and I’m required to learn
something new, and that makes for an amazing day be-
cause every day I’m better than what I was yesterday.”
The company is hiring for a number of positions, Pas-
ternak says.
Pipeworks, a game-making company local to Eugene,
is also hiring. Started in 1999, the company now has over
70 employees, according to PR specialist Liz Lambert.
“We do mentorship training, so depending on what your
specialty is we do have mentorships where people will
teach you specifically what types of programs they use.”
Lambert adds that the company is hiring for quality as-
surance (QA) positions and designer positions. Tina Cruz,
the HR director for Pipeworks, says that QA positions have
opened up because “we just moved some people out of QA
and into other positions in the company which is great.
We do a lot of internal grooming and development and we
move people into higher paid roles.” ■
Internships and mentorships are available at CBT Nuggets for high school
and college students. Those interested in applying can email careers@
cbtnuggets.com or check the company’s website, cbtnuggets.com. Those
interested in applying for a job at Pipeworks can check pipeworks.com and
look at the careers page.
A L L I S O N W E AT H E R LY
P H O TO S B Y AT H E N A D E L E N E
eugeneweekly.com • September 28, 2017
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