Shanice Kelley said she has always had an interest in computers since she graduated from Tyner Academy, but the 35-year-old employee at T-Mobile added she hasn’t had the chance to develop her software skills — until now.
On Monday, she joined more than a dozen other students at Chattanooga State Community College for the start of a class designed to help low- and moderate-income workers develop computer skills for higher-paying and more in-demand jobs.
The program is called Empact because it is an economic mobility program for advancement and career training.
For the next six weeks, the students will work full time — and receive a paycheck while going to class — to gain their Google IT certification to become ready for many of the growing number of IT jobs opening in Chattanooga.
“I’m nervous but excited also to get this chance,” Kelley said as the course began Monday.