John Wark, founder of the Nashville Software School, intends to be a key supplier of some of the 8,500 tech jobs Oracle plans to bring to Nashville's East Bank in the next decade. But heâs depending on word of mouth to get there.
Founded in 2012, NSS is a nonprofit that prepares people for jobs in web design, data science, coding and myriad other common positions in tech. The venture defers the bulk of studentsâ tuition not just until after graduation but also job placement and establishes retroactive payment plans based on graduatesâ starting salaries at their new jobs.
Currently relying in part on fundraising efforts like the Big Payback â a 24-hour fundraising campaign for area nonprofits that launched at the beginning of a panel discussion Wark and his team hosted Wednesday â NSS focuses on the tech industryâs underrepresented demographics, chiefly African Americans, women and veterans. Wark warns that Oracle's mass of job commitments could overlook these groups but notes that the IT giant's presence will solidify Nashvilleâs emergence as a tech hub, heralding the advent of more and more tech companies in the future.