NYC Generation Tech aims to turn high schoolers into techies

Despite the lagging economy and slow job growth, the tech sector is booming. And according to some estimates, it's only going to get better. This may be one of the reasons why some politicians and educators are pointing kids in the tech direction.

New York City's Economic Development Corp. and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship announced the launch of NYC Generation Tech today. It's an initiative aimed at teaching the city's high school students hands-on tech training while also pairing them with mentors in the biz.

Designed specifically for "students interested in transforming the world through tech-based innovations," the program is free, application-only, and focuses on students who aren't in elite schools.

The educational thrust of NYC Generation Tech is on mobile technology, design, and app development. Students will also learn about how to be an entrepreneur and start-up methodologies.

These are NYC Generation Tech's specific goals:

• Grow youth interest and activity in the business, entrepreneurship and technology sectors
• Bolster technology entrepreneurship in NYC high school students
• Connect students with existing networks of NYC tech entrepreneurs, start-ups, universities, tech companies, and venture capitalists
• Help strengthen NYC's entrepreneurial culture and environment in the long run

This program comes on the heels of another New York City initiative to get high school girls into the engineering and computer field. Launched last month, Girls Who Code is backed by tech heavyweights Twitter, eBay, Google, and more. In January, Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the Academy for Software Engineering, which is a high school aimed at training the next generation of software pros.

NYC Generation Tech is not a full-time school, rather it's meant to supplement other classes. The first session begins in August and additional sessions will run through the 2012-13 school year.