“There’s no reason this [apprenticeship program] can’t work for tech jobs,” said Ms. Russo, who described the program Friday as part of a presentation by Carnegie Mellon University and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to encourage women and minorities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

“How is someone who has been disconnected going to go through a program like this with no pay?” she added. “We’re taking all of the barriers away.”…

During Friday’s discussion, Ms. Russo said the Pittsburgh Technology Council identified some problems it hadn’t realized previously. For example, it’s not an easy commute from a place like Monessen to Pittsburgh, so the agency is looking at what it can do to help ease transportation concerns.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation secretary, Yassmin Gramian, told Ms. Russo to contact her after the meeting to see what the state might do to help address that problem.