New Orleans-based Operation Spark offers a variety of solutions for students of all ages interested in pursuing a career in software technology, one of Louisiana's fastest-growing career fields.
"Our programs are open to anyone, but our mission is to get low-income people in and and out of the program," said founder John Fraboni. "We've had a number of single mothers come into our program. We provide child care stipends and other offers to make it possible for people to complete the program."
Operation Spark, a nonprofit tech boot camp, will offer a free three-week class on introduction to computer coding, with the next two sets of classes starting Sept. 26 and Oct. 24. Classes are offered in person and virtually. Thus far, about 300 people have graduated from Operation Spark's adult program since 2016.
The free introductory class is designed to accommodate a variety of schedules and give participants a no-cost opportunity to see if the more intense six-week boot camp, which is priced on a sliding scale, is something they want to try. Once they finish the boot camp program, students can opt to go all in with Operation Spark's full-time, four-month immersion program, at a cost of $11,000 — again, a variety of grants are available.
The carrot is that Operation Spark has a 99% placement rate for its graduates — most landing technology jobs paying $65,000 or more in New Orleans.
"It's four months, very immersive. When you graduate four months later, you'll be a junior software developer with an average salary of $65,000 — and be an asset to your employer. You'll spend less time and money getting into the job market," said Fraboni, who is originally from Canada and started the successful Operation Spark in 2014 on a dare.
Fraboni came to New Orleans to study with a jazz musician before Hurricane Katrina. He said he had "a subcareer as a software developer" that allowed him the flexibility to travel and afford to take time off to pursue personal interests. When he returned to New Orleans in 2013, he said he was bummed to see so many young people struggling.
He said out loud to a friend, "Why don't we start a program to get kids trained as software developers?" His friend dared him to do it.
"It took a minute to figure out all the elements. I had never started a nonprofit," he said. "I started by going to community centers. I had worked in the video game industry in Montreal. I ended up developing the workforce track."
Afterward, he created a high school program to get young adults on a career path. Thus far, Operation Spark has trained about 500 high schoolers from across Louisiana.
"Instead of being a consumer of software, you can be a creator of software," Fraboni said.
Prep is the first phase of Operation Spark's training program, which gives students the opportunity to try their hand at software programming without a full-time or financial commitment.
For students who want to pursue a college degree, Operation Spark partners with the Tulane School of Professional Advancement and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, which includes Delgado Community College in New Orleans. Operation Spark’s industry-based credentials will transfer into college credit hours, saving both time and money.
The minimum tech requirements to participate are a laptop, desktop or Chromebook and a stable internet connection. The program's experienced, full-time instructional staff has been teaching coding classes for adults and students across Louisiana since 2014.
"If the kids stick it out for the two years, they are graduating at 18 and jumping into jobs making $55,000 a year. It's there. They're doing it," Fraboni said. "We've had about 15 kids do that in the last couple of years. It's a half-day program in high school."
The program also trains teachers in high schools to carry out the Operation Spark curriculum, even in rural parts of Louisiana. Fraboni said they have trained 18 teachers to date, which almost doubles the whole organization's staff of 22 people.
"It's just a huge win for the region," Fraboni said.
In late September, Fraboni heads to New York to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative.
"It's an opportunity for us to go and meet with organizations and bigger funders at a higher level," he said. "We are in the process right now of scaling to Georgia and need a little seed funding to get that done. We'll be self-sufficient once we get up and going, but we need philanthropic support to help students get through the program."
For more information on Operation Spark, go to operationspark.org
Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@theadvocate.com.