On June 4th, members of the OnSIP Channel and NetOps Teams attended the launch of TechBloom, a new nonprofit apprenticeship program designed to open the doors of the IT industry to women who want to enter the field. The energy in the room made one thing clear: this wasn't just another workforce initiative. It was the start of something important.
At the center of it was Ann Cloyd, Founder and CEO of DeepTech, a trusted New York City IT Managed Service Provider and a longtime OnSIP partner going back to 2011. Ann has spent her career building and managing IT teams, solving complex technology problems for businesses, and putting in place reliable, resilient systems that hold up over time. It’s this experience that gave her a clear-eyed view of what the industry needs and who it’s been failing to reach.
When I sat down with Ann after the event, I discovered that the idea behind TechBloom traced back further than I expected.
"About ten years ago I said to myself, I wish I could train the women who have applied with no experience, but I was not in a position to take them from scratch to being a technician," she told me.
The path forward came in pieces. "Roughly four years ago, the federal government and New York State decided that computer support technician should be a recognized apprenticeship," she explained. Then, last year, while participating in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, the pieces fell into place. "In exploring ideas, the apprenticeship program for women was born."
The need she'd identified was real—and bigger than most people realize. Women make up 49% the workforce yet hold just 27% of tech jobs and only 11% of executive tech roles. 83% of women in tech say having a role model would have influenced their career choice earlier. And more than half leave the industry by the midpoint of their careers—over double the rate of men.
Those aren't abstract statistics. They're the challenge Ann built TechBloom to solve.
TechBloom is a 15-month, fully paid apprenticeship—and the ‘fully paid’ part is crucial. Ann was deliberate about that from the start.
"I am dedicated to giving women a livable wage while training," she said. It's why she structured TechBloom as a nonprofit, committing to funding the program through grants and donations. Apprentices earn a full-time NYC minimum wage salary while they train, because no one should have to choose between learning and paying their bills.
The curriculum itself is wide-ranging and practical. Apprentices move through IT fundamentals, macOS and Windows support, help desk tools and workflows, cybersecurity basics, audio/visual systems, Internet of Things (IoT), and more. The program also teaches the customer service skills that separate good technicians from great ones. And rounding out the course of study are lessons on the history of women in tech, a story that doesn't get nearly enough attention and dissemination.
Graduates leave with a certificate of completion and four industry-recognized certifications. TechBloom also supports resume development, interview prep, and job placement.
Back at the launch in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC, you could feel the energy. The room was a mix of potential apprentices, mentors, and supporters drawn together by the conviction that the IT industry looks nothing like the workforce it serves, and that this is a worthwhile nonprofit to help change that.
TechBloom is actively building corporate partnerships for exactly that reason. Organizations that partner with the program gain early access to a pipeline of skilled IT professionals. But more importantly, Ann explains how orgs get the opportunity “to change what technical support looks like, and who gets to build a career in it.”
Ann has been part of the OnSIP hosted VoIP community for a long time and seeing her translate years of hands-on IT experience into an initiative with this kind of reach was truly exciting. With TechBloom, she's turning that same expertise toward building careers, giving women a real entry point into technical support, and removing the financial and educational barriers that have kept so many out.
"As someone who's built a career in tech, I know firsthand how much it matters to have a door opened for you. The industry has a representation problem—TechBloom is changing that."
For anyone interested in learning more, supporting the mission, or exploring a partnership, you can find everything over at tech-bloom.org.