Hopeworks is helping young adults get trained for tech in Kensington

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- They're training and finding jobs for young adults in the tech field.

Hopeworks is a bright spot for the neighborhood of Kensington. They're providing hope in a city that some say is riddled with crime.

Ruth De Leon is finishing up her training in web development.

A path the 20-year-old from Kensington thought wasn't possible until earlier this year.

"I probably be working at McDonald's, Popeye's, Wendy's," she said.

That's what De Leon says she was doing before.

"I saw the flier for hope workers, and said you could do the training, and then they help you get an internship."

Hopeworks - a nonprofit that is also a tech business that specializes in digital mapping and web development - has already trained and found jobs for 1,000 web designers in Camden. They're replicating that here in Philadelphia, with about 60 trainees and interns on any given day at their new Kensington site.

"We train young adults in technology," said Dan Rhoton, CEO of Hopeworks

"Once they're job ready, we employ them in our businesses in web development and data analysis in our business, give them professional experience and then they go right into the industry."

That means young adults earn a living wage while getting trained - something that's often a big barrier for those looking to make a pivot.

"Having an organization like this be able to show you where these job opportunities are or take away these hurdles, to let you get that foot in the door, is the biggest part," said intern Patrick Sylvester. He made a career switch from the medical field to tech during the pandemic.

At last check, Hopeworks had a 63-person waitlist for their Kensington site.