The Portland-based trade group Technology Association of Oregon has established a Central Oregon chapter, which is already working on the priority issue of talent development.

The technology association, or TAO, provides professional networking opportunities and lobbies on statewide issues. Its membership includes Bend tech professionals, such as Rane Johnson-Stempson, principal research director at Microsoft, who helped persuade the tech association to plant a flag in the High Desert, said Matt Sybrant, key industry coordinator at Economic Development for Central Oregon. On Monday, Sybrant also began working as the tech association’s Central Oregon coordinator.

The tech association has recruited a local 10-member steering committee that includes Preston Callicott, chief executive officer of Five Talent, and Bill Moseley, CEO of GL Solutions, Sybrant said. The association identified 114 potential member companies from the local tech sector, and the list could be longer as the association recruits tech-enabled companies and nontech companies that have large information technology departments, he said.

The association’s role in the region’s tech scene overlaps a bit with the not-for-profit TechAlliance, which operates the BendTech co-working space and hosts events.

Historically, local techies have organized around certain technologies.

“It makes it hard for the technology companies to articulate with a single voice to the local community what tech companies need to succeed,” Moseley said.

The tech association will support top management and provide a forum where they can reach consensus on local issues, Moseley said.

As a statewide organization, the Technology Association of Oregon opposes Measure 97, the November ballot question that would create a 2.5 percent corporate sales tax on revenue over $25 million. Teachers and other unions support the measure, which was previously referred to as Initiative Petition 28, while many business groups oppose it.

The Central Oregon chapter will set its own priorities and is starting with preparing the local workforce for tech careers, Sybrant said. So far that includes advising the High Desert Education Service District on integrating more science, technology, engineering and math into school curriculum and persuading Central Oregon Community College to create a noncredit programming course.

While tech companies often compete for highly skilled programmers, they also look for entry-level employees with a basic understanding of programming logic, Sybrant said.

COCC will offer a 10-week course in the C++ programming language sometime this fall, said Paul Stennett, program manager in continuing education. COCC has been working with the East Cascades Workforce Investment Board to line up tuition reimbursement and identify people who might benefit from the course, he said. The course, which will have a maximum of 12 students, is designed for anyone from recent high school graduates to construction workers looking for less physically demanding work, he said.

Housing is likely to be the next priority, Moseley said. Prices are climbing out of reach even for computer programmers, and it’s hard for new hires to find any place to live.

“We had a quality assurance manager who had to live in a tent for a month while she was searching for an apartment,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com