Due Diligent 

Happy Thursday, Baltimore. And to all Ravens Flock members: Stay safe tonight. 

Earlier this summer, the NYC-based SaaS company Diligent announced both plans to establish a hub in Baltimore and a new training academy to bring underrepresented peoples into tech-related sales and service positions. Last night, I had the opportunity to meet members of the Diligent Academy's first cohort at a special reception with leaders of Diligent, its partner SV Academy, local government and the area's tech ecosystem. 

While you can learn more in my forthcoming article, I'll say now that the event gave me a chance to learn about the talent that tech companies need outside of the engineering and development roles that usually come up in discussions about STEM education, tech workforce gaps and DEI. Speaking to former teachers, case managers and students who used the academy to build a different career reminded me about just how many ways people can plug into the tech sector.

What are the coolest or most important non-technical positions at your own companies? Do you see programs like SV Academy and Diligent's as a viable way to train people for those positions? Let us know your thoughts by responding to this email or sending another to baltimore@technical.ly.

— Technical.ly editor Sameer Rao (sameer@technical.ly)