Nonprofit prepares Detroiters for tech jobs with free training -- Here's how to apply

DETROIT (FOX 2) - NPower, a tech training nonprofit that provides free tuition to people in underserved Michigan cities has launched in Detroit.

"When I lost my job during the pandemic I was pretty hopeless. There were a lot of things because I didn’t know what I was going to do," Alexandria Jones said. "NPower gave me hope."

Jones had a child at 17 and dropped out of college. After losing her job, she enrolled in the NPower pilot program in Detroit, where she was able to learn programming and more.

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"It’s amazing. It literally is giving me the opportunity to do things for my daughter that I wouldn’t have had before, the dreams that I’ve had for her not just for myself, but what I will be able to do for her and the goals I’m trying to meet," she said.

Jones starts an internship with the state of Michigan on Monday, where she will make four times her old salary working with business analysts. She credits the program with changing her life.

"It means everything to me just to be able to show her mommy didn’t go to the traditional route but she’s going to make sure everything is taken care of and show her a better way," Jones said.

NPower works with companies such as Rock Central, TCF Bank, and Little Caesars Enterprises to hire employees after they graduate.

The first in-person Detroit session is scheduled for the fall. Apply here.