I had the recent pleasure of touring the University of Washington Tacoma campus and was lucky enough to schedule my visit on the opening day of the fall semester. A buzz was in the air and the student union was rocking when I arrived.

I was awestruck with how beautiful and well laid out the campus was. Located in the heart of downtown Tacoma, most of the buildings are newly renovated yet still preserve the character and charm that put Tacoma on the map at the turn of the century. The campus is located on top of the old transcontinental railroad site, which enabled Tacoma to flourish and become one of the largest port cities in the U.S.

What I also learned during my tour is that UW Tacoma houses the “Institute of Technology”.

In 2001, Governor Gary Locke was being lobbied by Washington industry to create a “polytechnic university” to address the increasing demand for nationally competitive bachelors and masters prepared technology professionals. The governor proposed and the legislature approved the establishment of the Institute of Technology at the University of Washington Tacoma to address the growing demand and to spread the prosperity of the high-tech economy to more residents of Washington State.

The Institute was given a state-wide mission with fifteen community and technical college partners. The goals were to:

1. Create significant additional capacity in community and technical colleges as well as the CSS program to increase bachelors and masters graduates, which would support and fuel the growth of Washington’s high tech industry
2. To provide every Washington citizen access to prepare for an outstanding and rewarding career in the state’s high-tech industry

Fast-forwarding to 2014, I would say that Governor’s Locke’s vision has become a reality. The Institute of Technology currently graduates over 250 students a year in computer engineering, computer science, and information technology fields. This makes UW Tacoma one of the largest producers of proven technology talent in the State.

This program may be the State’s best kept secret, but that won’t last for long. With the massive shortage of technology talent in the State, UW Tacoma is making significant strides in solving our State’s skills gap demand problem.

On October 15^th, the Institute of technology will have its first Fall Tech Career Fair. If you are an employer looking for some of the brightest new tech minds in the State, I highly suggest you attend. Click here to learn more.