Meet Terri-Ann Brown, director of Miami Tech Works, a workforce development initiative that bridges the gap between employers and training providers. Miami Tech Works launched the Tech Talent Coalition which consists of 250 employers, training providers, and community members focused on establishing technology talent pipelines.
After being awarded the Good Jobs Challenge grant, Terri-Ann identified TPM as the ideal framework to guide the creation of the employer collaboratives and immediately began participation in the TPM Academy. Leveraging TPM’s emphasis on employer leadership and demand-driven decision making, the Tech Talent Coalition positions employers to use their data to identify common pain points, determine which critical jobs to target, and track measurable outcomes. This data is then shared with local training providers to inform the design of their training programs. As a result of this process, employers now have access to a diverse pool of skilled candidates and training providers have a consistent line of communication with the employers.
Brown oversees the Tech Talent Coalition which consists of four employer-led working groups that address key focus areas: 1) Emerging Tech Talent; 2) Tech Skills Gap; 3) Inclusivity in Tech; and 4) Small Business Capacity Building. In addition to access to funding for upskilling in key focus areas, participating employers work collaboratively to design and test work-based learning solutions for their community. For example, Break Through Tech Miami is most known for their “Sprinterships.” These are three-week long paid project-oriented micro-internships with employers. In the summer of 2023, Break Through Tech placed 33 students into three-week Sprinterships. Of that group, 16 returned for 10-week summer internships and nine students got full-time offers. As of 2024, Break Through Tech has placed 158 students at 10 employers.
While TPM emphasizes employer leadership and return on investment, all Tech Talent Coalition members have achieved significant success through Brown's efforts. Key accomplishments include:
- 2,476 participants enrolled in relevant training programs
- 335 graduates placed in tech jobs paying over $66,000
- $60,000 in wraparound support services provided to 2,200 participants
During the Miami Tech Works conference in February 2025, Terri-Ann shared the original purpose of the collaborative: “Miami Tech Works started as a collaborative effort exploring ‘what does a good job in this region mean?’ We want to ensure that students engaging in tech training get a job, stay in that job, and have a clear understanding of the pathways to advance in that job.”
Using the TPM framework, Terri-Ann and the Miami Tech Works members have changed the narrative that there is not technology talent in the Miami region. As a result of their work, Miami students that receive technology training will not only secure a job but acquire the skills necessary to stay in the job and advance to better opportunities.
