ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – From sleeping in a Walmart parking lot to working at Sandia National Labs — a workforce program is helping New Mexicans cross barriers and end up with their dream jobs.
Spending day after day sleeping in an RV in Albuquerque with no running water.
“I was at the bottom of the barrel,” said Tucker Logan.
Logan didn’t know where to turn.
“I was trying to find work wherever I could…contract, anything…and my wife was pregnant with her first child,” Logan explained. “It was like the worst situation you could be in.”
With no family around for support, he reached out to Tech Hire, a job training program run by the state.
“It was the pivotal moment in my life that changed the outcome for my children,” Logan said. “It ended the cycle of poverty and I’m forever grateful.”
Tech Hire is funded by a four-year, $4 million grant from U.S. Department of Labor focused on helping people like Logan reach their goals.
“The focus of the grant is to build and support a career pipeline for the IT industry,” said Joy Forehand, New Mexico Workforce Connection Operations Manager. “And for tech jobs here in the central region of New Mexico.”
Logan is now a software engineer at Sandia National Labs and makes more than $75,000 a year. He’s not the only success story. Jacques Chevrier found himself wanting a change when he was a welder in Texas, while his family lived in Albuquerque.
“I was in Texas 400 miles away so I was watching my daughter grow up through FaceTime,” Chevrier said. “So that wasn’t the most ideal situation.”
After taking the 10 week course, Chevrier became an app developer. Tech Hire has had over 185 participants take part in the program so far and hope to have more.
“If you really want to change your life, I stand behind Tech Hire being one of the greatest programs,” Logan said.
Albuquerque was one of the first cities to join the national Tech Hire initiative, but they serve the entire metro area. For more information, click here.
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