Emerge Career, a US-based education technology startup that provides online job training solutions to governments, recently announced that it has raised $3.2 million in seed funding round.
The round was led by 776, with participation from SoftBank Opportunity Fund, Y Combinator, Lenny Rachitsky and Y Combinator Managing Director Michael Seibel.
With the new fundraising, the company plans to hire engineers and start up the new welding and nursing programs, as well as expand to three more states. It also aims to make Emerge Career the first choice for anyone in the country who has a disadvantaged background to get a second chance in the modern workforce.
Co-founded by Uzoma Orchingwa and Gabriel Saruhashi, Emerge Career provides training programs for government agencies looking to create high-paying jobs, reduce recidivism, and upskill incarcerated people out of poverty. It’s training program helps formerly incarcerated people get a commercial driving license (CDL).
Emerge’s offline-compatible platform meets the security and safety requirements of the correctional environment and can be installed in any device. It places students with one of its partner schools for accelerated hands-on training, and connects the graduates with a network of employers.
Speaking about the company, Co-founder of Emerge Career, Gabriel Saruhashi, said:
Besides the clear labor shortage and high compensations, these are two professions that the justice-involved people we met in prisons and reentry centers across the country showed a lot of interest in. Trucking has been an exciting starting point, but we know many people cannot be away from home for prolonged periods of time, be it for personal reasons or reentry obligations. Ultimately, we want to offer training programs for individuals from all walks of life.
Saruhashi further added:
The feedback from their first students has been very positive, highlighting the self-paced training (since it can be accessed piece by piece whenever is convenient), its speed (the aim is to go from zero to job in about two months) and the hands-on support they get from Emerge’s career coaches.
