About Programmers Guild
We're your neighborhood tech workshop, developing and delivering workforce training for aspiring software engineers! We exist to provide career opportunities to aspiring programmers from black and minority communities. As a non-profit organization and a professional guild, we service this mission by developing software. You can check out our current projects and see what our apprentices are building!
Programmers Guild opened our doors for the first time in 2023, after the plague1 finally subsided. It’s our mission to be a community resource that promotes tech literacy, while providing job opportunities for young software developers.
What's a Guild?
A guild is an ancient institution spanning many different cultures and civilizations. We're a modern incarnation focused on craftsmanship and professional development.It takes a lot of time and hard work to master a skill -- too much time to repeat each generation. Our guild model is about passing those skills to the next generation through a combination of training and working simultaneously.
Programmers Guild develops and delivers training for programmers. Our goal is to provide a hands-on training program to help you master your skills. There's no better way to learn and gain experience than by working side by side with someone who can show you the way.
It all starts by evaluating your skill level to establish a training schedule and get you to work. We're a team of working programmers who train working apprentices.
Our Team
Our team has been working in the tech industry for a little over a decade. We are working software engineers who are also trained classroom instructors. We work hard to develop the best training practices and we deliver quality training our members.
We've supported the development of many training programs for schools and businesses. We're strong advocates for creating more vocational organizations like our own, that can be a professional resource to the local community. Becoming a programmer is as simple as walking through our doors with a commitment to learning a new trade.
Our Vision of the Future
Black and low-income communities have been left in the dust. We want to see a future where our community is an equal participant in the digital economy. Local businesses should own their digital spaces, rather than being perpetual renters of wealthy platforms. Local citizens should have the technical know-how to be independent and set the prices for their labor. We see a digital city, where the people who live in the community are the primary beneficiaries of the daily technologies they use.
Empowering our community starts with owning our digital footprint. Programmers Guild is on the ground equipping the community with the knowledge to create it's own opportunities.
| Problem | Our Solution |
|---|---|
| Accessible training | Our approach puts professional tools in their proper place by de-emphasizing them. Training focuses on technical aptitude, creative thinking and problem-solving techniques. |
| Lack of local tech resources | We remove the most obvious barrier first: access to equipment. Anyone can walk into our workshop, be curious, join free classes, no pressure, no money required. |
| Expensive and risky training programs | We're the most affordable program in the Bay Area by far with working apprentices. We combine education with career development for a seamless experience. |
| No work opportunities | Young programmers are struggling to find their footing as professionals. Skill training followed by work opportunities is our mission. |
| Poor tech literacy | Tech literacy is crucial to becoming an equal participant in the digital economy. We train and support local businesses and entrepreneurs. |
Our Promise
Our goal is simple: be a safe, accessible, and professional organization where anyone commited to the craft can find a path to a career. No friction, just a warm community of geeks who love our trade!