Per Scholas

Per Scholas is an American nonprofit organization based in The Bronx, New York City founded in 1995 by John Stookey and Lewis Miller. Per Scholas provides tuition-free technology training to unemployed or underemployed adults for careers as IT professionals. It has 21 educational locations throughout the United States as of 2023.

IT Training Programs
Per Scholas offers free IT training and workforce development programs.

Per Scholas offers a range of free technology and professional development training, based on local market demands. Each Per Scholas program includes hands-on technical skills training, job skills instruction, individualized support for job placement, and personal and career advancement.

According to Per Scholas's training programs, it attributes its success, in comparison to other workforce development programs, to its understanding of the industries its students will enter. The organization works in close partnership with many prominent corporations and is structured with the intent to fill specific demands in the labor force.

The programs are funded by an array of partners, including corporations, foundations, public agencies, elected officials, and other individuals.

Additional IT Courses
In addition to the standard IT Support career-track training, offerings have been expanding to include courses for careers in network engineering, software testing/quality assurance, cyber security, web development, and more to respond to labor demands within the sector.

Social Ventures
In August 2013, Per Scholas launched the Software Testing Education Program (STEP)—an 8-week training that prepares graduates to fill entry-level software testing roles. While developing this program, Per Scholas was given the opportunity to partner with software consulting company Doran Jones to create the Urban Development Center, a software testing center built adjacent to Per Scholas' Bronx location to employ graduates in the software testing field.

Platform by Per Scholas
Platform by Per Scholas (PxPS) offers employers customized training tracks that put students in direct hiring pipelines with major technology employers, as an extension of the Per Scholas workforce development model. Platform students receive tuition-free, hands-on training, career development resources, and interview opportunities with technology employers to help take their career to the next level. PxPS currently operates careers tracks with corporate partners in New York (Bronx, Manhattan), Pennsylvania, and Texas (Dallas, Irving) for aspiring Java/Python/.NET Developers, Data Engineers, SOC Analysts, Programmer Analysts, Quality Engineers, and RPA Developers.

Leadership
Founder and Chairman Emeritus John Hoyt Stookey was chairman, president, and CEO of Quantum through 1993 and has held positions on various boards since retiring in 1995.

Current Chairman Lewis E. Miller is the president of Qvidian, a provider of cloud-computing applications, and was previously CEO of Synergistics and The Future Now, Inc.

CEO and President Plinio Ayala was previously the director of program operations at SOBRO. In 2006, he received the Liberty Award from the New York Post for his work in the NYC community. In 2005, he was issued a Citation of Merit by the Bronx Borough President.

Each regional site outside of New York has an advisory board as well.