SOAR turns coal miners into coders in the heart of Appalachia

Appalachia is working to revitalise its economy and create 30,000 new jobs by introducing new tech industries to replace its dying coal mining trade. Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) is re-training workers in skills like coding, promoting the establishment of new tech businesses and developing the area's tourism, healthcare and agriculture industries. The program is supported by the US government through funding and the creation of a border-to-border fibre optic cable that will ensure exceptional broadband coverage across the region, opening up opportunities for remote working. In an area that historically depended on the rapidly declining coal mining industry the program hopes to establish a new blue-collar economy.