The Tech Opportunity Fund has been launched by The Iron Yard in collaboration with Code Fellows and Operation Hope with the goal of increasing diversity in the tech industry by removing financial barriers and increasing access to technology education.

Over the next five years, the Tech Opportunity Fund intends to award $100 million in diversity scholarship to students in need from groups that are under-represented in the tech workforce, including minorities and women, according to a press release.

“To maximize the potential of the tech industry, we must maximize the potential of a diverse tech workforce,” The Iron Yard’s CEO, Peter Barth, said in the release. “The Tech Opportunity Fund builds off of the momentum generated by innovative initiatives like TechHire to ensure Americans of all backgrounds have access to tech training programs that can open the door to a career in tech. There is a true need in the industry for an organization to unite the many groups that are working toward this goal and by coordinating our efforts, we can truly change the industry for the better.”

“There is a true need in the industry for an organization to unite the many groups that are working toward this goal and by coordinating our efforts, we can truly change the industry for the better.”
Peter Barth

According to the release, the initiative will offer technical skills training, as well as financial literacy education and entrepreneurship training through its partnership with Operation Hope.

The Iron Yard committed $40 million in full-tuition scholarships, and Code Fellows has committed $5 million. Under the initiative, scholarships will be available to all of The Iron Yard’s campuses, including the one in Dallas.

In addition to the scholarships, the Tech Opportunity Fund will world to remove other barriers encountered by people wanting to pursue a code school education, the release said.

The companies said that municipal governments and civic organizations will help scholarship recipients by addressing such things as affordable housing, financial literacy, counseling, and transportation.

Applications for the program will open by January, the release said. To receive a scholarship, applicants must first be accepted at a participating code school via that program’s usual admissions process, the release said.

The Iron Yard is one of the world’s largest codes schools, while Code Fellows is an immersive coding bootcamp in Seattle, Washington. 

Operation Hope’s mission is to make free enterprise and capitalism work for the under-served communities in the nation.

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