RK Mellon Foundation is offering grants to address Pittsburgh’s tech worker shortage

For all of the acclaim Pittsburgh’s universities have attracted and the notable companies choosing to call the city home, researchers have cautioned that the local technology sector could have a grim future if it doesn’t invest in attracting future tech workers.

With that in mind, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is issuing two economic development-focused requests for proposals dispersing up to $4 million in grants.

The first will provide funding to nonprofits and private-sector organizations that help Pittsburghers not only obtain skills relevant to the tech sector, but build a pipeline to make them employable in this economy.

The second RFP is asking for proposals for services, products or technologies that benefit gig workers or disconnected workers — that is, individuals who have left the labor force. Since gig workers often lack access to health and pension benefits or access to on-the-job training, any service that could address any of these issues would likely be welcomed.

“The Foundation and many other organizations are working hard to implement economic development strategies to make the Pittsburgh region a national and global hub for new economy jobs,” RK Mellon Foundation Director Sam Reiman said. “But these efforts only will be truly successful if the people of our region are fully prepared to seize those transformative new jobs. These two RFPs are meant to advance that preparedness.”

What’s been holding Pittsburgh back? According to an RK Mellon Foundation co-funded RAND Corporation report from January, although the city’s technology sector has made strides, its population has failed to grow with it. If that trend keeps up, per the report, the city will have plenty of tech jobs — but not enough people to fill them. This is attributed to Pittsburgh’s aging and declining population and not enough young people moving to the area. Plus, a lack of transportation access for borough residents can prevent them from occupying positions in the city.

Further cause for concern is that due to lack of exposure to the field and barriers to entering the field itself, local tech hiring managers said that they’d had some difficulty recruiting and retaining workers of color. Some of the remedies included the city focusing on outreach to students, and touting Pittsburgh as a feasible post-graduation option.

“The region also needs a sufficient supply of students informed about, interested in, and capable of completing these programs,” the report said.

In recent years the, Steel City has also made it a point to invest in STEM education with a gaggle of after-school programs, free educational programs and workforce development initiatives that have been developed in recent years.

In the case of this investment, the RK Mellon Foundation’s RFPs will offer grants ranging from $200,000 to $500,000. Apply on its website.

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.