SPRINGFIELD – The technology development organization Tech Foundry received a grant as a part of the state’s Tech Talent Diversity Initiative. The organization received $72,547 from the state grant and an additional $20,000 from the Boston-based cybersecurity firm Rapid7.

Tech Foundry joins Hack.Diversity and the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology as recipients of the $494,947 grant round. The three tech entities submitted grant applications along with five other organizations. For Tech Foundry, the organization works to supplement the growing technology workforce needs by offering training for underrepresented work forces.

Deputy Director of the state’s Innovation Institute Jason Hoch explained that he and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative began seeking avenues to improve tech diversity in 2019.

“We recognize the challenges in the industry overall … The Innovation Institute identified a need to focus some of our workforce development and internship programs in a more focused way in diversity and tech,” said Hoch in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

Hoch envisions the state grant as an opportunity to enable some positive steps forward for diversity. During the grant’s 2019 funding round, Hack.Diversity and Tech Foundry were selected as the first recipients of the diversity grant. Hoch shared that the grant provided positive opportunities for Tech Foundry.

“We are very happy with the results of that program. In Tech Foundry’s case, they were able to expand their recruitment of people of color and people from under resourced socio-economic groups. [Their recruitment] went up from 45 percent to 85 percent,” said Hoch.

Hoch also highlighted how the selected organizations “provide some balance for the state.” Tech Foundry represents Western Massachusetts, Hack.Diversity works in the Greater Boston area and Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology operates as a statewide organization.

Reflecting on the grant’s impact, Hoch stressed the importance of providing diversity opportunities for one of the state’s fastest growing career fields.

“This is a growing industry. These are critical jobs we need today and are going to need tomorrow. The more that the workforce has greater representation of our community, in terms of gender, race and overall access, it should lead to more innovation, creativity and better decision making when the entire tech space looks like the world around us,” said Hoch.

Chief Executive Officer for Tech Foundry Tricia Canavan expressed her support for how the grant award benefits organizational goals.

“Tech Foundry’s mission is to connect underserved and underrepresented populations to training, careers and technologies … [The grant] was a natural fit, and I think the initiative we hope to support through this grant are allowing us to scale our program,” said Canavan in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

With the new funding round and an additional grant from Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, Tech Foundry plans to double its training efforts, implement a new service-learning program and develop a “digital sandbox” that allows participants to practice their problem-solving skills.

Canavan views the new additions as critical components of Tech Foundry and their diversity initiatives.

“We really are thrilled and appreciative of the opportunities Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is funding for us. We look at this as being foundational to the continued growth and impact of Tech Foundry,” said Canavan.

Readers can learn more about Tech Foundry at https://thetechfoundry.org/.