MotherCoders launches in Ogden to introduce area moms to career in tech | Education

“Our demographics are shifting within the state, and so many ladies within the state are working,” stated Robbyn Scribner, the director of group and company packages for RizeNext. RizeNext is a corporation that works to provide alternatives to girls within the workforce.

Scribner added, “That is a part of an even bigger image of ladies discovering new alternatives to work efficiently within the state of Utah.”

Efigenia Neofitos is without doubt one of the mothers who signed up for this system. After 4 years of being a stay-at-home mother, she began a job within the spring of this 12 months at Overstock.com, the place she labored as a customer support consultant taking calls whereas engaged on a pc.

“I just lately went again into the workfield and realized that know-how and the data of know-how is a lot deeper than simply emails, and that i needed to know the best way to work with it and the best way to make it a part of my life,” Neofitos stated.

Neofitos just lately stop the job at Overstock.com as a result of she turned overwhelmed. Now, she’s searching for one thing extra long-term.

“I desire a profession,” she stated. “I’m not a stay-at-home mother. I like my children and I like my dwelling, however I desire a profession.”

As a result of she turned a mother at a younger age, Neofitos stated she by no means pursued a school schooling. She thought taking part in MotherCoders can be a great begin to leaping into a brand new discipline.

In accordance with Brian Rague, an affiliate dean within the School of Engineering, Utilized Science & Expertise at Weber State, Neofitos is precisely the type of individual that the college hoped would join this system. The college is working to play a job in diversifying the STEM discipline — in response to the Utah Division of Workforce companies, solely 19% of the individuals in laptop, engineering and science jobs are girls.

“It is smart to attract from a inhabitants, like moms, that’s making an attempt to reenter the workforce — these are the kind of individuals we wish to jumpstart their careers and get entangled within the discipline,” Rague stated.

Contributors in MotherCoders will be taught by on-line and in-person coding workout routines, classroom workshops and lectures, in response to a press launch from Weber State. They meet in a classroom on the college’s Neighborhood Training Middle.

The schooling charge, which is often $1,450, was diminished to $200 by CARES Act subsidies and funding from native firms. As a result of this system presently relies upon solely on volunteers, nonetheless, the value could should be raised sooner or later, Scribner stated.

The present session — which began Sept. 26 and goes till Nov. 21 — is already crammed, however this system will run yearly in spring and fall.

“It was intimidating to be a mother at one cut-off date, and you are feeling such as you’re alleged to know all the pieces … however there’s nonetheless a lot to be taught,” Neofitos stated. “To return to a group the place they’re in the identical boat as you, it’s superior.”