How two organizations are coming to struggling tech workers' rescue

For several months, the tech industry has been suffering record-breaking layoffs, leaving a growing number of tech workers feeling unsure about the state of their future. In an effort to aid those affected, some employers are banding together to lend a helping hand. 

Entrepreneur network CoFoundersLab recently waived the fee to their premium membership to their professional network to get employees back on their feet. The memberships are typically priced at $29 a month or $348 a year and provide access to a network of over 650,000 professionals looking to establish a startup or tap into discussion boards and weekly masterclasses with industry experts, marketers and investors.

The path to entrepreneurship is one option for the thousands of employees that have been laid off, says Steve Lehman, one of CoFounder's chairman. Tech workers in particular are ideally positioned to succeed in a start-up environment, he says.   

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"We're very passionate about the startup journey and entrepreneurship, particularly in tech," Lehman says. "A lot of our premium members come out of tech. They are such bright, motivated, interesting people that typically have ideas to launch, but do not know a lot about business or entrepreneurship. We thought this would be an interesting opportunity for anybody who's been laid off to learn how to start a business of their own."

In 2022, nearly 200,000 workers were laid off from more than 297 tech companies, including giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, with 900,000 more layoffs anticipated for 2023, according to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, which has tracked tech losses since 2020. With so many former employees looking for new opportunities, there's tremendous room for new ideas and projects to flourish, Lehman says. 

"To get into Google or Facebook or Amazon or any of the companies that have had big layoffs, you have to be a pretty credentialed individual," Lehman says "They're incredibly bright people and a lot of them have tremendous expertise in niche areas that they can apply to developing something around that niche that they can launch on their own." 

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Coding bootcamp provider General Assembly is also encouraging tech employees to think outside the box when it comes to their next move. The company recently launched a 13-week employer-funded apprenticeship program for aspiring or early-career tech talent, focused on software engineering, data and cybersecurity. 

"Tech roles are everywhere — it's about opening opportunities for anticipated roles," says Priya Ramanathan, General Assembly's VP of government and workforce partnerships. "The companies that we're working with cut across industries, like healthcare or professional services. While there are tech layoffs, there are still industries that are hurting for tech talent." 

General Assembly's program will first enroll employees in full-time courses to learn coding languages and skill sets. Apprentices will then be placed at their assigned company to work full-time, reporting to a senior level engineer or developer and working with other junior level employees. The apprenticeships can lead to full-time employment after one to two years.  

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"The intent is that they're getting on-the-job learning, mentorship and coaching in the workplace so that they're less likely to leave that job," Ramanathan says. "Starting small and then scaling is a real opportunity for companies to really dig into their work." 

For both new and more seasoned talent, the future for the tech industry remains unclear, though efforts by CoFoundersLabs and General Assembly are shining a more optimistic light on what's possible. Keeping an open mind around the pathways that can exist within the tech industry offers some hope amid a rather bleak landscape, Ramanthan says. 

"I think there's a lot more willingness to think creatively," she says. "[The tech industry] wouldn't be making these investments if we didn't feel optimistic about not only the opportunity that employers are looking for, but the amount of learners who want to be able to make this transition as well."