TechHire Oakland and GitHub Team Up to Prep Underrepresented Talent for Apprenticeships
Kirsten Lundgren, TechHire Oakland

August brought the launch of GitHub’s first ever apprenticeships in partnership with TechHire Oakland. In doing so, the world’s leading software development platform company is tapping talent from one of the most racially diverse regions in the Bay Area and the nation.
While GitHub has long prioritized skill-based hiring over degree qualifications, the “Octoprenticeship” program formalizes job entry for frequently overlooked non-traditional (non 4 year CS degree holding) talent. In doing so, GitHub joins a growing movement of companies starting to slowly pilot tech apprenticeships and broaden recruitment to address a perceived skill shortage. The program is structured as:

A six month, paid opportunity to work on real projects with a GitHub team, learn alongside a mentor, and develop skills to convert into full time roles.
In addition, the apprenticeship is unique for its:
- Strong alignment with TechHire Oakland’s emerging tech pathways: We advocate for people of color designing and building at the center of the innovation economy, and are thrilled that Octoprenticeships lead to high-paying, durable jobs across our emerging tech pathways in software engineering, dev ops/infrastructure, UI/design, sales.
- Open to community college talent: Did you know that only one out of fifteen tech companies engaged in talent development in the East Bay works with community college students? With people of color comprising 70% of community college students, many of them low-income, GitHub is tapping into a richly diverse, frequently overlooked talent pool.
- Remote work opportunity: The benefits of telecommuting are numerous — from time and gas saved to increased productivity. The Octoprenticeship allows remote flexibility while still maintaining a structured culture around coaching.

In August, we gave thirty TechHire Oakland members an inside look at GitHub and what skills are used in the Octoprenticeship.
For some, this was their first exposure to a tech company in the Bay Area, despite being just a bridge away. Many are completing coursework while also working 1–2 jobs to make ends meet. All have tenacity, perseverance, and desire for learning.
Current GitHub engineers, themselves from diverse backgrounds, shared insights on navigating the application process. They actively demystified the Octoprenticeship by demo-ing projects and skills to expect — ranging from authentication to dependency graphs in experience engineering.
This is just the first in a series of TechHire Oakland workshops that help prep East Bay residents of color for job-based learning. This fall, we’ll offer workshops with companies who are pushing beyond field trips/classroom visits to build the job entry opportunities our talent deserves.
A skill workshop with LinkedIn is up next. Sign up to stay in the loop!
