$3M Grant Targets Madison Latinx Tech Careers
- A new $3 million grant will fund training programs aimed at boosting Madison's Latinx residents into tech careers. - The grant totals $3 million and will support training, apprenticeships, and job placement services. - Advocates say the award could diversify Madison's tech workforce and improve economic mobility (patch.com).
A Madison nonprofit says it has secured nearly $3 million to build a tech hub aimed at expanding digital skills and career pathways for Latino residents. (wispolitics.com) Centro announced the award on April 17 at its 2026 Strategic Update at the group’s new South Side headquarters. The money comes from Ascendium Education Group, a Madison-based nonprofit that funds education and training after high school for learners from low-income backgrounds. (madison365.com) Centro said the project, called the Centro Tech Hub, will roll out in three phases: community-informed research, expansion of in-house training pathways, and a bilingual online learning platform. The organization said the hub is designed to support digital literacy, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and leadership opportunities. (wispolitics.com) The grant lands as Wisconsin is putting more money into tech-related workforce training. In February, the state Department of Workforce Development said Wisconsin had won $7.3 million in federal funds for employer-driven training in advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence, including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. (dwd.wisconsin.gov) Madison’s Latino workforce already has local networking and mentorship groups, but this project adds a larger training pipeline tied to tech skills. The Latino Professionals Association of Greater Madison says it focuses on mentorship, skill-building workshops, leadership development, and networking for Latino professionals. (lpamadison.org) Centro said Latino residents have been underrepresented in technology and innovation spaces, and federal data shows Hispanic workers remain substantially underrepresented in the high-tech workforce nationally. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that pattern changed little between 2005 and 2022. (madison365.com, eeoc.gov) The local backdrop is a growing Latino community in Dane County. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts lists Hispanic or Latino residents at 7.8% of the county population in its 2025 estimate. (census.gov) Centro says it serves more than 7,500 people a year and delivers more than 20,000 hours of programming in Dane County. The group framed the new funding as a longer-term investment in access to education, work, and business creation in tech. (wispolitics.com) What comes next is build-out rather than a one-time scholarship push: research, training expansion, and a bilingual platform that can reach people beyond one classroom or one cohort. Centro has not yet announced a public launch date for the full hub. (wispolitics.com, madison365.com)
