DraftKings Inc has announced that it will be expanding its Tech for Heroes initiative to San Francisco. This eight-week course, offered free of charge, is designed to provide high-tech job skills training to current and returning veterans and their spouses, to enable them to expand their knowledge base and find gainful employment in the tech sector upon completion of their military service.

Working in partnership with the national nonprofit VetsinTech, the company launched its first corporate social responsibility initiative in June, with its first training class in Boston on front-end web development. In addition to Boston and San Francisco, the company has plans to expand the programme to additional cities in the coming months.

Paul Liberman, DraftKings co-founder and COO, explained: “While there are a lot of opportunities in today’s tech market, it is also extremely competitive, so we want to make sure that those who have made tremendous sacrifices in service to our country are well equipped to compete for those jobs. We designed our Tech for Heroes class in San Francisco to be responsive to the job market and in a subject that can be applied to nearly any company, no matter their size or industry.”

Katherine Webster, founder and CEO of VetsinTech, noted: “DraftKings has such a deep understanding of cutting edge technology and what is required to work in the tech industry, so we are fortunate to have them as a partner in advancing the mutual goal of helping veterans interested in pursuing careers in high-tech.”

DraftKings employees will be working with the veterans as mentors to deepen their understanding of employment opportunities at high-tech companies and to further support the veteran graduates pursuing careers in tech.

The firm recently announced the establishment of a new office located in the core of downtown San Francisco, which will be home to some of the company’s growth marketing executives and their team. This office will focus primarily on building out a best-in-class growth marketing organisation, expanding the DraftKings digital brand and driving customer acquisition.