GSA Partners with DC Link and LearnNew Technology Center to Prepare DC Youths and Adults for High Paying Jobs

GSA #9534

November 23, 1998
Contact: April Kaufman
202/501-1231

WASHINGTON, DC -- Administrator David J. Barram of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) celebrated the dedication of DC Link and Learn, a computer and information technology center that will train youths and adults for the many technology-based jobs available in the Washington, DC area.

GSA provided DC Link and Learn with 40,000 square feet of space in Waterside Mall and office furniture such as desks, chairs, filing cabinets, and tables. The space and furniture are excess Federal inventory and were donated through GSA's Good Neighbor Program. The program recognizes GSA as an active participant in the civic life of American cities in which Federal employees and properties are located.

"This Administration has been a strong advocate of building partnerships with communities and the Federal workers in those communities," said Barram. "Our facilities and efforts with DC Link and Learn can serve as a redevelopment tool to reinvigorate DC."

Barram, a technology executive prior to joining the Clinton Administration, added that "the District of Columbia sits in the middle of a region second only to the Silicon Valley in the number of technology-based organizations located here."

DC Link and Learn is the first comprehensive economic development strategy launched in the city to address the shortage of information technology workers. Through classes in technical and life skills, basic education, and job placement, DC Link and Learn will train DC area residents for good-paying jobs in a rapidly growing industry.

Archie Prioleau, a former IBM executive and founder and president of the Foundation for Educational Innovation, began DC Link and Learn to prepare unemployed, underemployed, and low skill workers to compete for jobs in the 21st Century.