More than 160 job seekers, tech enthusiasts and students interested in learning about Clark County’s growing tech community and job opportunities participated in the second annual Vancouver Tech Tour held on Tuesday, September 18.
Fourteen tech companies participated and either opened the doors of their downtown offices or had representatives stationed in downtown coffee houses, brew pubs and restaurants.
The event began at 4 p.m. at DiscoverOrg, a local B2B marketing and sales intelligence solution company, at 805 Broadway, Suite 900, and continued to the tech companies and other downtown locations hosting tech reps, including Tap Union, Trusty Brewing Company, Smokin’ Oak, Brewed, Heathen, Jorge’s Tequila Factory and The Grocery.
Individuals (called “tourists) toured through downtown Vancouver to find out what technology companies are working on, experience their company culture, network with others and learn about job openings.
“The event was fun, with tourists making an evening out of it by coming in groups of friends, families and spouses to walk around downtown, have some food and drinks and check out the cool tech innovations happening in our own backyard,” said Darcy Hoffman, Director of Business Services at Workforce Southwest Washington and one of the event organizers.
“There was a great mix of people who don’t have jobs and want one and people who have jobs but want a better one. I met quite a few Vancouver residents who work in Portland and Beaverton, and younger college students and even high school students,” continued Hoffman.
Participating tech companies included:
- ACH Marketing
- CoLab
- DiscoverOrg
- Edge Networks
- ForgeRock
- Formos
- Gravitate
- GTMA
- Interject Data Systems
- Perfect Company
- RealWear
- Sigma Design
- SmartRG
- Webfor
Ryd provided free shuttle service to and from the farthest points on the tour (Edge Networks for Interject Data Systems). https://ryd.green/
“We are pleased to partner with TAO, Workforce Southwest Washington, WorkSource, Vantechy and North Bank Innovations to highlight the vibrant and growing tech scene in Clark County,” said Monica Santos-Pinacho spokesperson for the Columbia River Economic Development Council.
“With over 160 attendees this year, it’s energizing to see the excitement around new job opportunities tech companies are bringing to Clark County. Technology makes up two of the five strategic sectors in CREDC’s Economic Development Plan—Software and Computers & Electronics—and you will see us continue to focus on expanding our footprint in this area,” said Santos-Pinacho.
The event culminated at 7 p.m. with an afterparty at CoLab Collective, a co-working space at 810 Main Street, where attendees had the opportunity to network with participating companies and other like-minded individuals and win raffle prizes. VanTechy, a local tech meetup, outlined its plans for the 2018-2019 meetups.
The Vancouver Tech Tours is a program of the Technology Association and hosted in collaboration with Workforce Southwest Washington, VanTechy, Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) and North Bank Innovations.
Next year’s event will be held on Tuesday, September 17, 2019.
