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Launchpad Philly opened in 2022 with what seemed like a winning formula.
Through the technology training program, high school students and recent graduates would learn coding skills, build a portfolio, get personalized support and mentorship, and then land a job.
When it first recruited students for its program, those with software engineering skills “were in mass demand,” said Dannyelle Austin, the organization’s executive director.
But the growth of AI scrambled Launchpad Philly’s approach while its first cohort was still in training.
The tech industry’s job market has transformed in just the past year, with entry level jobs in particular drying up. Companies have cut thousands of jobs in favor of relying on AI to do basic tasks. Even those with college degrees in computer science are struggling to land employment.
That makes the outlook particularly difficult for the young people Launchpad Philly works with. They’re largely public school graduates without college degrees. Now, the organization is overhauling its curriculum and providing more direct work experience in an effort to keep the door to well-paid tech jobs open. But it’s not easy.
“It was like, oh, actually we don’t know what the jobs are, what the skills are” that help people get hired, Austin said.
Teaching young people to code used to be a reliable way to open doors to high-salary jobs. Programs cropped up across the country, including Launchpad, to help connect youth with the careers the industry promised.
Starting in the 2010s, they seemed to work. A research review from last year found coding bootcamps generally helped participants land jobs. Even programs targeted at youth and young adults reported high rates of employment for those who completed training, with many earning a salary of nearly $100,000 soon after.
But young people like Daniel Johnson are now experiencing something very different.
Johnson, 20, started training with Launchpad Philly right after he graduated high school in 2024. Like all participants, he got paid, with some earning up to $18,000 over the course of their time in the program, which is designed to last up to two and a half years.
Johnson, who’s in the program’s second cohort, now has a portfolio of work and strong references. He applies to jobs about once a week. But the market for his skills seems to be nonexistent.
“I never get a single email back,” he said. “I don’t even think I’ve received a rejection.”
Coding skills now less valuable in job market
When Johnson started out with Launchpad, AI tools were far less widespread. Claude Code, Anthropic’s AI coding assistant that now dominates the industry, hadn’t been released yet. Other AI coding tools, like ChatGPT, weren’t so reliable.
At the time, Launchpad’s curriculum focused more on hard coding skills and problem solving. Participants would learn the Python programming language along with key workplace skills, like how to receive feedback and collaborate on complicated projects.
Those lessons still feel relevant, Johnson said. But he’s constantly using AI now as well. “You’ve gotta be able to work in today’s world,” he said.
He’s hoping to land a job in software development, user-experience design, backend development, or development operations — jobs where skill and comfort using AI now seem essential.
Launchpad trains around 70 students at a time, with the majority in an introductory program aimed at high school seniors. During the first year, they spend weekday afternoons at Launchpad’s Center City office. Around a dozen recent graduates participate in a second year of more intensive training and internships.
Last year, it graduated its first cohort of 12 students from the intensive program. But those students didn’t get much training on AI, and getting full-time work afterwards was difficult, Austin said. Now, a year later, three are working full-time, two are in college, and the rest are piecing together freelance and part-time work.
That cohort graduated at a time when AI was changing everything, Austin said. “We saw how hard it was” for them to land jobs, she said.
So Launchpad staff began reworking much of its curriculum and looked through job descriptions to get a sense of what employers wanted. AI skills were important, but so was experience keeping data safe and managing workflows with more technology in the mix.
Participants now can get multiple certifications to show they have experience using generative AI and project management skills along with coding. Lessons focus more on translating technical tools for people in other business roles, rather than just on coding. Most instructors are developers or technologists who also have experience working with youth.
Another major change was the decision to open Launchpad Inc., which functions as a kind of business side of the organization and creates work opportunities for students.
Local companies and nonprofits hire Launchpad as its developer. Then Launchpad staffs those projects with program participants. It only offers part-time work, but pays $20 per hour.
Demitri DeLuca-Lyons, 20, graduated from Launchpad’s official program last year, but he’s stuck around as a developer to work on the projects the organization brings in. His hope is to get a full-time tech job one day. But he’s skeptical that the job market will rebound to offer more entry-level positions to people like him. He doesn’t have a college degree, and describes himself as “anti-college.”
“A lot of my strategy kind of hinged on trying to stay here as long as I can to build up my work experience,” said Deluca-Lyons. “That way I can put on my resume that I’ve worked at a place for five years. That might get me through the doors.”
Young people hope AI skills lead to jobs
Launchpad wants to help Philly youth land good jobs. But to Chip Linehan, CEO of the nonprofit Building 21 that oversees Launchpad, there’s another reason for it to exist: Half of Philly’s public school graduates don’t go on to college once they get their diplomas.
And getting help with training, applying for positions, and networking after high school graduation can be extremely tricky, he said.
That was something he saw up close at the public high school Building 21 operates in Philly. Launchpad employs a social worker to help participants develop the interpersonal skills they’ll need for the workplace, and provides mentorship to recent graduates.
Building 21 offers Launchpad organizational support, but the program relies on grant funding and money from city and state career programs for youth.
Bianca Ruiz, 18, joined Launchpad recently and is participating in the program’s new curriculum.
She’s loved technology since she was young and dreams of working in digital forensics. She knows she’ll have to get more training for that and likely a college degree. But for now, she’s excited to be fleshing out her tech skills, and she’s not so afraid of the job hunt that comes next.
She’s become well-versed in what AI is capable of — but she’s also aware that it can’t do the critical thinking, relationship building, and decision-making that makes real humans valuable.
“I feel like AI could take a portion of my job,” Ruiz said. “But I don’t think it could take the whole thing.”
Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org.