As Out to Lunch prepares to go back to hosting live lunches, for inspiration we’re taking a look at some of our pre-Covid shows. Here’s an Out to Lunch Best of: The Next Generation of Tech.
As technology continues to evolve and change the world around us, our local economy is changing too and adapting — taking advantage of the opportunities the tech sector creates and preparing the next generation of tech workers for the jobs that need filling today and in the years to come.
Jacquelyn Craddock is Director of Workforce Initiatives at Nexus Louisiana, an arm of the Research Park Corporation that connects growth-focused companies to capital, resources and talent. In that role, Jacquelyn oversees a relatively new program called Apprenti Louisiana—an apprenticeship program that provides education and paid on-the-job training for those interested in joining the tech sector. Apprentices work in computer programming, web developers, software developers, IT support personnel and network security administrators, to name a few. Jacquelyn is a native of south Louisiana and graduate of LSU, who came back to the state to work at LSU more than a decade ago after first getting a master’s degree in Public Administration at Tennessee and working several years in that state.
Casey Roussel is CEO of Entrical, a Baton Rouge based tech company that specializes in technology solutions in the security sector. Entrical is a new name for a company that’s been around a while— it was previously called Perceptive Intelligence and it has several products, including a database that allows law enforcement agencies to share information with each other, a facial recognition and object comparison software, and Platform XI, which enables law enforcement and commercial users to share information designed to keep those users safe. Casey has been CEO of the company since mid 2019, though he was working with the firm before that in his capacity as an IT consultant.
Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show and more information about Out to Lunch and our guests on our website.
There’s more lunchtime conversation about Baton Rouge tech here.