EncodeXP Connects with Students and Jobseekers at Careers in Gear Job Fair
EncodeXP trains Oregon students ages 14-24 in emerging metaverse technologies. In 2022, the organization received a Future Ready Oregon Workforce Ready Capacity Building Grant to integrate career pathway mapping and student mentorship, to design and build a tech aptitude assessment, and to increase outreach and support for students from priority populations and other young people who may not otherwise see themselves in the tech field.
This past April, EncodeXP staff networked with some 3,000 high school juniors and seniors and 200 adult job seekers at the 10th annual Careers in Gear job fair in Jackson County. The EncodeXP team considers this networking opportunity one of their key grant-funded successes: “The booth was anticipated to be popular, given the alignment our training would likely have with the interests of youth in gaming and interactive digital media. However, the engagement exceeded our wildest dreams. We met hundreds of students and received 62 applications for just 10 spaces in our summer cohort. Another surprise was the invitations to collaborate with many educational institutions and community service organizations. EncodeXP is now formalizing partnerships to build training pathways with several high schools and charter schools, our community college and regional university, youth-serving community organizations, other coding programs, and local tech businesses, to name a few.”
Several summer cohorts begin June 23. Learn more about EncodeXP and its joint mission of preparing students for tech jobs and advancing a more inclusive, accessible tech industry at https://encodexp.org/.
Pictured: Devyn Fae represents EncodeXP at the organization’s 2023 Careers in Gear booth.
