The AmeriCorps Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) bridges the "digital divide" for new Immigrants and low-income communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul. HIRED was founded in 1968 to assist ex-offenders in finding employment and avoiding recidivism. In the 1970's and 1980's, HIRED's workforce development programs expanded to serve a variety of populations, including: adults transitioning off of public assistance, disadvantaged urban youth, refugees and low-skilled and highly-skilled dislocated workers. Most recently, HIRED has worked to solidify collaborations with employers and industry, as evidenced by the nationally recognized M-Powered Manufacturing Training, Service First Hospitality Training and Customer Service Professional initiatives. Today, HIRED stands as one of the Twin Cities largest workforce development organizations, in terms of both scope of programs and numbers of people served. HIRED's mission is to provide personalized and innovative work solutions. Our goal is to help jobseekers, especially the low-income and disadvantaged, meet their personal and financial needs through innovative employment services.