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50-City Tech Jobs Tour To Stop In Louisville, Eastern Kentucky

Tech Jobs Tour/Facebook

The Tech Jobs Tour is coming to eastern Kentucky and Louisville. The tour is part of an effort to fill more than 500,000 technology job openings across the country.One of the participants is Megan Smith, who was the nation’s chief technology officer during the Obama administration.She says the shift in many cities from industrial to digital economies has created a demand for workers with technical skills.“They pay 50 percent more than the average American salary and they’re not only coding jobs, but also like product management, social media, marketing, sales, etc.," she says. "And the companies in Louisville, in Kentucky and all across the country really need more of these employees. It’s critical for our economy.”White says it doesn’t take long to acquire the needed skills for many of the tech job openings.“People go from making $20,000 to $30,000 a year, into making $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 a year or more (after) a three-month coding boot camp,” says Smith.On Wednesday, August 16, events will be held in Pikeville and Paintsville in Eastern Kentucky. There will also be an official Tech Jobs Tour Career Fair in Louisville on that day.And on Thursday, August 17, there will be a roundtable discussion regarding the "Future of Work in Louisville," featuring local business, government and community leaders, according to a news release.Details about the tour and related events can be found here.

Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.