At their showcase, DPI’s software development apprentices showed off the apps they developed.
Ricardo Juarez used to be a pastry chef. With stints at Dos Urban Cantina, Bad Hunter, and Trivoli in Chicago, as well as République in Los Angeles, he was fully absorbed in the restaurant world.
But as anyone who has seen The Bear can tell you, chefs work long grueling, stressful days, often for low pay. As Juarez got older and settled down, he was ready for a more stable career. He joined DPI’s Tech Apprenticeship program in May and finished this summer along with 21 classmates.
Why it matters
By upskilling and re-skilling talented people for tech jobs, the Tech Apprenticeship program, an initiative of the Pritzker Tech Talent Labs, is working to accelerate innovation and create a more equitable tech ecosystem.
Ripping recipes, building better and more
Before receiving their certificates of program completion, all the trainees presented their projects in a science fair–style showcase.
Since pivoting to tech, Juarez only cooks for fun now. Drawing on his pastry background, he likes to make cookies, but has also gotten into grilling and, because his partner is Chinese, exploring the food of the Chengdu region.
He quickly became frustrated by online recipes, which often require scrolling through lengthy stories, photos, and of course ads before getting to the recipe itself. While he doesn’t want to stop people from earning money, he wanted to create a better user experience.
Enter Recipe Ripper, which strips out everything except the actual recipe and presents it in a simple format. Users can also see what their fellow recipe rippers are making.
Juarez’s fellow apprentices also made apps drawn from their lived experiences.
- Brandon Varner, a former communications professional, created Bordu, a project management app to help address the $1.3 trillion a year that is lost due to miscommunication on projects.
- Maya Sheriff, whose father works in construction, developed Built Better, a sort of Slack for construction job sites
- Jan Niewielski created UCL, which uses AI to craft unique cover letters for job applicants.
- Yusra Ahmed, who follows a halal diet, created Safe Eats, for people on halal, kosher, vegan, or vegetarian diets to determine whether packaged foods conform with their diets.
Where they go from here
The trainees are encouraged to continue working on their apps and expanding their skills in the bridge curricula, with a goal to match in an apprentice role at a PTTL partner employer. In some cases, trainees are hired directly into full-time, permanent positions.
While Juarez doesn’t know if he’ll stay in tech, “I’m open to trying,” he said. He’s found stepping away from the restaurant grind and learning the Ruby framework to be fun and “healing.”
Many of his cohort members had similar thoughts — that more than the programming knowledge, they appreciated the friends made and lessons learned about themselves and their capabilities.
Natalie Demyanenko fled Russia in 2023 and worked in a manufacturing plant before joining the program. Addressing her fellow trainees and their families at the closing ceremony, she said that of all the things she learned — including durable skills, an appreciation of her peers, and the value of her previous position — “the most important thing I learned in the program was my own value.”
Learn more about the Tech Apprenticeship Program
The summer 2024 software development apprentice cohort. Photography by Winnie Wu.
Author: Jeanie Chung