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<v ->The 21st Century Techforce initiative launched</v>

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by the Puerto Rico government,

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especially the Department of Economic Development,

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that looks to train 50,000 additional people

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in tech roles and 21st century roles for the next 10 years.

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The modern economy is driven by talent,

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and we understood we have some gaps.

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We understood that we needed to make investments

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in digital talent and tech talent.

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What we're investing initially is in three main buckets.

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One of them is K to 12, so thinking about high schools,

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I think that's where the pipeline starts.

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The second is short-form credentials.

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We want to revolutionize how higher-ed

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and universities think about their programs,

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where students can go in

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and start taking classes that are relevant for the market.

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We're thinking about stackable credentials where

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they can start getting certifications and associates

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but they can also go and reach their bachelor's.

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And the third one is we want to enable the ecosystem

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and the training provider landscape to scale.

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You know, our goal is to really disrupt the ecosystem

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for training providers, from the high school system

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all the way to alternate training providers.

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<v ->CEOs are no longer looking</v>

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for the best incentive packages.

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It's no longer cash that drives site-selection decisions;

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it's talent.

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And so when we had the chance to partner with Puerto Rico,

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who's been a longtime partner of BCG, to develop the pools

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of talent that would support business growth in Puerto Rico,

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it was an incredible opportunity for us to make

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a really big difference to Puerto Rico,

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drawing on the experience and the relationships

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that were built in economic development over many decades.

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One of the things that really galvanized support

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around 21st Century Techforce was our ability

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to quantify the number of people that were needed

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in tech roles to enable Puerto Rico to hit

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its economic development vision;

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that we need 50,000 people over the next 10 years

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who have tech skills, who have engineering skills,

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business skills, to drive economic growth in Puerto Rico.

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That became a North Star of the initiative that's guided

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what everybody in the ecosystem has done since.

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<v ->The speed at which we have been able to assess, design,</v>

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and start implementing, in my opinion, is impressive.

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And I think having a partner that pushes you

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to move fast with always having quality in mind, right?

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I think that's really, really important to know

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you can move fast, but the quality is really important,

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and I think BCG has brought those to our agency,

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and, you know, the difference is seen.

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I think everyone's super excited.

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You cannot just go into a new place and think

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you know everything and implement things

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that are not sensible to the people there,

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and I think BCG has done a great job at that.

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My goal, and I want to say my dream, is for

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every Puerto Rican to understand that the world,

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the economy, is moving toward tech.

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Tech is going to be the norm.