{"id":358514,"date":"2025-11-05T23:31:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T23:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/358514\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T23:31:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T23:31:19","slug":"launchpad-philly-creates-paths-to-high-paying-tech-jobs-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/358514\/","title":{"rendered":"Launchpad Philly creates paths to high-paying tech jobs for students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yara Kemeh learned about Launchpad Philly after watching her friend, who was a part of the organization, give a presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had an app idea, and they presented the app idea,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s an audience, and I was one of those in the audience supporting my friend. And I saw a lot of women of color and people of color in this program, and it encouraged me to come in, since I\u2019m an Arab woman.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A graduate of The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), Kemeh focused on arts and graphic design in high school, but has a long-standing\u00a0 interest in technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought I didn\u2019t know enough, or I didn\u2019t have resources to actually learn what the tech was about,\u201d she said. \u201cI recently got a PC, and I was trying to understand all the parts and how it\u2019s actually functioning, and when I\u2019m getting errors, how to fix it. I have technically skilled friends and they would help me, but I wanted to learn on my own, so I don\u2019t have to depend on others to learn these things and do all these technical aspects of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Yara Kemeh (right) works on preparing her app for Launchpad Philly\u2019s summer pitch competition
\n(Photo courtesy of Launchpad Philly)<\/p>\n

She also wants to work toward a high-paying and successful career, she said. This is where Launchpad Philly came in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLaunching\u201d careers\u00a0<\/p>\n

Launchpad was started to empower those pursuing tech as a career, said its executive director, Danyelle Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLaunchpad started about three years ago in response to this idea that many young people don\u2019t always have access to a pathway that\u2019s going to lead to a high-paying job opportunity if they decide college is not the right fit for them,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so over the last couple of years, we\u2019ve been working with young people starting in high school and training them in the technology skills to help them get good-paying jobs. In addition to technology skills, it\u2019s a lot of durable skills \u2014 communication, problem-solving, growth mindset, and asking for support and feedback.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The classes have several levels of curricula, said Nick Imparato, Launchpad\u2019s program director.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our high school-based programs, Launchpad Foundations and Launchpad 101, the main programming language we\u2019re teaching is Python,\u201d he said. \u201cWe picked Python because it\u2019s beginner-friendly and it has a ton of industry applications and a bunch of different career pathways.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Launchpad Philly has tangible workforce development opportunities \u2014 including workshops on relevant skills (Photo courtesy of Launchpad Philly)<\/p>\n

Launchpad Foundations comes first. This is where Philly\u2019s 11th or 12th-graders get a \u201cglimpse\u201d of what the program has to offer \u2013 including college credit, networking and touring local tech companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to say, \u2018I think I like tech. Let me actually see what that means,\u2019\u201d Austin said. \u201cMany young people don\u2019t get access to that in high school. And so it\u2019s a chance for them to come and just get a deep dive into lots of different technical things, and then make a decision.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond skills, students at this stage receive up to $1,500 in stipends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From there, Launchpad 101 provides a more \u201cimmersive\u201d experience. The course, which is geared toward high school seniors, involves a bigger commitment \u2013 half-days during senior year. Students in this phase will graduate with industry certification and \u201cclose relationships\u201d with industry experts and internships. At this level, students receive up to $3,000 in stipends.<\/p>\n

Lift Off, the final stage, is the most hands-on, Austin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a full-time, really intensive and immersive program where they\u2019re going deep into full-stack engineering, with lots of AI skills built into that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the goal really is to get them right into high-paying job opportunities once they finish and graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students participating in this stage will receive up to $12,000 in a paid, hourly wage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kemeh is currently participating in Lift Off while studying at Philadelphia Community College.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kemeh (far right) working on Launchpad Philly projects (Photo courtesy of Launchpad Philly)<\/p>\n

The programs also leverage a variety of skills and resources, like artificial intelligence and networking, to help students feel more equipped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unique pathways\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of the Lift Off program is creating \u201ccutting-edge\u201d content that will propel students to enter the workforce, Imparato said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo not only can you build a website that looks good and is bug-free, but also, users who are using your site can maybe interact with the chatbot, or get some sort of feedback on documents that they\u2019re uploading,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kemeh was recently able to present an app through the program that aligned with these goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough my app, I used AI as a chatbot to help prepare students with their resume-building skills, how to negotiate [salaries and pay] and all the professional skills that you probably need in a job that hasn\u2019t been taught in school,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other part of her application focuses on vetting job postings. This includes weeding out out-of-date job postings and ensuring listings students apply for are verified.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was also able to create connections through Launchpad that led to her current job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I really want to highlight that Launchpad really brought to the light that not a lot of people talk about is that networking is everything when it comes to getting jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know that, and I just was taught to go to college and to get a job and that you\u2019re good to go. But I didn\u2019t know at all about networking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Austin said the program uses a \u201ccompetency-based model.\u201d While other workforce development programs may be focused on pushing students into jobs and checking boxes, Launchpad equips students with lifelong skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows us to make sure young people are demonstrating and collecting evidence, and able to talk about that evidence, of how they\u2019re able to meet these skills and the requirements that employers are looking for,\u201d she said. \u201cSo not just that every young person has a LinkedIn profile, but that their LinkedIn profile is hitting on all of these really critical pieces that we think are important and that are research-informed and industry-aligned.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The program invests a \u201clot of time in young people,\u201d Imparato said. (Photo courtesy of Launchpad Philly)<\/p>\n

Imparato said the program also \u201cinvests a lot of time\u201d in young people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a young person who does all three programs, they\u2019re going to be with us for two years, plus an extra summer. And so I think that\u2019s both like a firm commitment that we\u2019re putting out there to say, \u2018Hey, we will provide you with a structured curriculum and support and financial incentives for that length of time.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin said the program is currently funded through philanthropy, foundations and individual donors, and added that the organization is in the process of creating a social enterprise as an additional revenue stream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The program is open to any 11th- or 12th-grader or recent high school graduate who lives in the city of Philadelphia. No prior coding experience is required. High school students can attend any kind of school \u2013 whether it\u2019s a public, charter or virtual school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization also provides info sessions to interested groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf folks would be interested in having us come in to do an info session, whether it\u2019s at a school or community-based organization, or anywhere with young people, there\u2019s a \u2018Contact Us\u2019 form on the website that they can use to reach out and we\u2019ll get in touch about coming in to do an info session,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Applications for the next cohort will be due on Feb. 15, 2026. Imparato said there is a short essay attached to the application, and an interview process that follows.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yara Kemeh learned about Launchpad Philly after watching her friend, who was a part of the organization, give…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":358515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,27485,407,1448,2830,1311,159,158,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,174558,11108],"class_list":["post-358514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-computers","tag-education","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-science","tag-technology","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-workforce-training","tag-youth"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115499702359561307","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}