A partnership between two local organizations has resulted in a program designed to decrease disparities in information technology fields.

The Madison YWCA and local software consulting firm, Adorable, have partnered to form the YWeb program. The YWeb program is designed to decrease the gap in the IT industry for women and people of color, Brandi Grayson, YWeb program director, said.

The program is a 400 hour class that teaches front-end webpage development, focusing on the three main computer “languages:” HTML, CSS and Javascript, Adorable founder Jim Remsik, said. If the student completes the 400 hour program, they are given a computer and placed in paid internships in local technology companies that partner with YWeb, he said.

“We expect that the internship is an extension of their learning. They come out with a bunch of new skills, and will have worked with other professionals in the industry,” Remsik said.

While the target age for the program is 17-25 year olds, the program has received participants ranging from 17 to over 60-years-old, Remsik said.

The program took on its first class of students in October 2014, after securing grant-based funding in summer 2014. The program was designed to span eight months, so participants who began in the fall 2014 graduated in May 2015, Grayson said. After the initial eight month class, the second class was an intensive, 11-week class that went from June through Aug. 29.

The first class had 26 people initially, with nine graduates at the end of the program. The second class recruited 23 people, with 16 graduates, Grayson said. Aside from the change in pace, there were several other changes to the program made between the first and second classes that could have contributed to greater long-term success, Grayson said.

The second class of students received support regarding how to deal with working in a field that is largely dominated by white male employees, Grayson said.

Participants in the program are sometimes facing homelessness, joblessness or other challenges, so meeting individual needs can help make the students more productive in the workplace, she said.

“It’s hard to focus in the classroom if you’re homeless,” Grayson said. “A lot of our students are struggling with all kinds of barriers. We give them the hard skills, but what makes folks successful is learning how to navigate through white space.”

The program is currently only providing instruction on racial justice issues to students, but Grayson hopes that soon YWeb will be able to provide racial justice training for the IT partners as well.

Additionally, YWeb is currently engaged in negotiations with the Madison Metropolitan School District concerning a potential partnership, according to Remsik. Creating this partnership would allow YWeb to provide this training to students who “might not fit into school perfectly,” he said.

Remsik knew when he graduated high school that college was not for him. But, he engaged in a printing apprenticeship that gave him a skill set that allowed him to be successful. Providing participants with a valuable skill set at the beginning of their careers will allow small changes to have a big impact on their futures, Remsik said.

“This has been a really good partnership with the YWCA,” Remsik said. “The YWCA isn’t used to providing IT training, and we are being introduced to all sorts of situations that we aren’t exposed to all the time, which is making us more aware. It has really stretched both of us.”