Tech dump
Techdump Part of Tech Dump’s mission is to recycle and rebuild discarded electronics. The other part is to rebuild lives. Tech Dump hires people who have “owned their past” and are ready to change their lives. Some of the company’s 45 employees have never held a real job, so there’s extensive training. That training often includes basic workplace “soft skills,” such as showing up on time, taking orders from a boss and dealing with workplace conflict. That job can have a profound effect. She tells the story of a recent employee who came to them with a felony on his record. He drove for Tech Dump for nine months before being hired full time by Metro Transit, which comes with a middle-class wage and union benefits. We have all types of grants that they can take advantage of to get restarted on life. Tech Dump’s model of hiring and providing training to people with criminal records to help them get back into the job market was one reason Dan Rogers of Eagan-based IT firm Cadan Technologies...