On Oct. 12, UNITE-LA launched its fourth cohort of Step into Tech in partnership with the Cisco Networking Academy with 18 participants, which will be culminating on Nov. 16.

The six-week program includes hands-on, introductory courses in networking, cybersecurity and data science and provides opportunities for program participants to earn lifetime certifications in networking or cybersecurity through self-paced courses via the Cisco Networking Academy. UNITE-LA continues to look for ways to improve outcomes for Step into Tech. For this cohort, we added one-to-one mentor sessions. Each participant was assigned a mentor whom they met with for two, one-to-one, one-hour sessions and received individualized support and guidance on their career/educational pathway, resumes, interviewing skills, networking and professional development. Each mentor is also making him/herself available to participants beyond the program, inviting participants to reach out whenever they need additional support with their professional journey.