We have the tech jobs, but how do we fill them?

President Barack Obama recently announced his administration's new TechHire initiative, a call to action for American educators and businesses to accelerate their efforts to bridge the growing skills gap in the information technology industry.

As part of the initiative, 21 communities across the country promised to take leading roles in connecting a new workforce to the traditionally well-paying jobs that are encompassed by the information technology skills gap. Most of the country's tech hubs were represented, from the original Silicon Valley of Northern California to Silicon Alley in New York City.

The Phoenix area — possibly the next Silicon Desert — should have been included. Those of us driving and witnessing the tech boom in our area know it's real and growing.

The facts tell an undeniable story: Phoenix is one of the country's fastest-growing tech hubs. As the city with the 10th highest number of technology workers in the United States, the market only continues to grow. Tech companies based elsewhere are looking at neighboring states for expansion, and they like the look of Arizona.

In Phoenix, the demand for new workers with skills such as coding isn't coming, it's here. In the last 90 days, there have been almost 400 new web and software industry jobs posted in the Greater Phoenix area.

And we have a truly diverse and innovative set of educational institutions capable of accepting the president's challenge to train those workers, including excellent community colleges, four-year universities, private universities and what the TechHire initiative calls nontraditional approaches, like Rockit, the web development bootcamp in Tempe.

We're all seeking the same thing: Training skilled professionals, filling jobs and creating partnerships with local companies that are in need of people and skills to support and grow their business. From where we stand, presidential validation adds to the exciting, sustained tech boom we are witnessing in Phoenix.

Partnerships can help Phoenix reach its goal of creating pathways to better, high-paying tech jobs. By supplying the urgent employer demand with skilled applicants, Phoenix is taking a leadership position to meet the president's challenge head on. This is an exciting time for Silicon Desert. Let's make the most of it.

Mark Brenner is chief of staff at Apollo Education Group, parent company of Rockit Bootcamp.