New training class, new chances to break through

July has been a month of departures and arrivals around the Genesys Works office. Though we are sending 60 new alumni off to college, we also welcomed a new class of 135 rising high school seniors into our Summer IT Training Program on June 20th.

Seng, Stanley, and Jake worked together to troubleshoot a virtual machine earlier this month

Now into our fifth week of the two month training, it's easy to see just how strong the desire to succeed is for these new Young Professionals. They come each day dressed to impress, ready to work on developing their technology and communication skills. In the end, they will have had over 150 hours of training and will emerge from the summer prepared to provide real value to Twin Cities corporations in demanding IT positions.

A sampling of what Young Professionals have been doing over the last four weeks:

• Giving formal speeches on topics in IT using Powerpoint or Prezi
• Getting hands on opportunities to build, image, network, and troubleshoot computers
• Creating the perfect resume and participating in developmental interviews with real HR professionals
• Continually refining workplace communication ability through team-based IT problem solving

We'll try to capture some of the energy of the summer through our Twitter Feed (@genesysworkstc) and this newsletter. Stay tuned for videos, pictures, and guest posts from students. Also, save the date of September 28th for our Breaking Through Ceremony, where we celebrate the successes of students as we place them in corporate jobs for their senior year.