Future Skills Breaks Boundaries in North Las Vegas

The rapid pace of technological advancement is fundamentally changing the skills needed for the jobs of the future. The Intel® Future Skills program focuses on directly addressing inequalities that may result from this radical shift in work. See how a prototype Intel Future Skills program in North Las Vegas helped a young woman advance in her quest to become an engineer.

A lot of people didn’t take me seriously about my interest in technical fields. You don’t listen to those people. You just keep moving ahead.

Torres, 19, developed a passion for technology as a member of the High Rollers, a national award-winning robotics team at Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. But when she graduated, she didn’t have the funds to start college and pursue her goal of becoming an engineer.

She found another path toward her dream through an Intel® Future Skills program deployed by Nevada Partners, an employment and training service nonprofit agency in North Las Vegas. The 14-week program showed Torres and other young people how to create innovative solutions using cutting-edge technology, software, and equipment. Participants completed real-life engineering challenges, and learned how to document their results. The program provided a broad range of experience in topics that included simple circuits, coding, 3D printing, laser and vinyl cutters, digital cameras, and virtual reality.

In addition to acquiring technical skills, Torres became adept at making presentations and conducting effective meetings. She also gained self-confidence, and moved from being reluctant to talk, to running her program team’s board meetings.

Torres has applied for several scholarships in hopes of going to college and graduating debt-free with an engineering degree in the coming years. In the meantime, she has landed her first tech job. While participating in the Intel Future Skills program, she got an interview with the City of North Las Vegas, where she is now an intern in the Information Technology department.

Torres describes herself as a strong person who can get things done. She is focused, and she knows what she wants.

The only boundaries are those that we set up for ourselves.