Ironhack, DDEC boost Puerto Rico’s digital workforce
More than 3,200 people applied to training programs launched by Ironhack in partnership with the Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico, resulting in 494 participants, 364 graduates and 45 industry job placements with reported salary increases of up to 100%.
The results, confirmed by Ironhack Puerto Rico, highlight the impact of the 21st Century Techforce initiative to close the island’s digital skills gap.
Graduates completed courses in web development, data science and machine learning, Java backend, UX/UI design and artificial intelligence engineering. Salaries reported by participants ranged from an average of $50,250 annually to as high as $120,000, with an overall average increase of 19%.
The program produced several success stories. Daniela Rivera, who began with a background in culinary science, transitioned into data analytics and is now a reporting analyst at Abarca Health.
Roxangélica Rolán, formerly in finance, became a Salesforce developer at Banco Popular in less than three months. Wellington Abreu, a self-taught programmer, joined Xtillion and was promoted to senior developer a little more than a year later.
Ironhack implemented 10 boot camps covering AI engineering, cybersecurity, UX/UI and software development, while also introducing short courses in AI for business, marketing, human resources and the public sector that reached 445 professionals.
Private-sector partnerships led to new hires, organization officials said. Banco Popular trained and hired 20 developers, while MCS created a track for five customer relationship management (CRM) developers, who now lead digital initiatives.
More than 2,000 people also took part in hackathons, events and tech tours, including FuturoConPR and BEFest.
Looking ahead, Ironhack and the Department of Economic Development and Commerce plan to benefit 1,000 professionals by 2030.
“We’re building more than just careers — we’re building the island’s digital future,” said Yaneisha Pérez Padilla, general manager of Ironhack Puerto Rico.
