The fast-moving labor market has made “learn to code” a slur amid worries about the limited shelf life of tech training. Yet educators also face pressure to keep current on AI fluency and other digital skills so students aren’t left behind in an increasingly tech-grounded economy.

The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies has an answer for how to strike that balance with its education program, which is free and aimed at teenagers.

“Skills are a Trojan horse to unlock motivation,” says Kabir Sethi, a regional director for the nonprofit TUMO.

The first U.S. center of the unusual model opened in greater Los Angeles a couple months ago. TUMO was founded in Armenia and now has centers in Argentina, France, Germany, Portugal, and several other countries, with more locations on the way. Prominent local champions have helped spur the program’s spread, including Germany’s Angela Merkel and Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris.

“Germany is our best market,” says Sawyer Hescock, the CEO of TUMO Los Angeles, “They see it as a plug-and-play solution.”

The after-school program is designed to give teens the skills and tools to succeed in a digital world. It’s open to anyone between the ages of 12 and 18 and lacks entrance requirements or tests. The centers enroll lower-income students as well as wealthier participants, who arrive with a wide range of academic preparation.

Students are in charge of their learning at TUMO, which features self-paced activities, workshops, and project labs. The program is built around 14 “learning targets,” ranging from game development, gen AI, and programming to writing, music, and drawing. Learning activities in each field have three levels of depth and lead to workshops, which are taught by specialists.

The curriculum is student choice mixed with structure, Sethi says, and emphasizes creating and making things. TUMO also features learning coaches and visiting mentors.

“Choice really matters,” he says. “We really don’t want it to feel like we are pushing you in one direction.”

Teens typically attend the center twice a week for about two hours per visit. There are no grades or competition at TUMO, says Sethi. “Your portfolio is your signal.”

The results are impressive. Participants see substantial gains in their grades at school, outpacing control groups. They are more likely to attend college and get into selective institutions. Alumni also are more confident in the job market and are 3.5x more likely to work in tech.

The model isn’t cheap to run, with an average annual cost of $2K per student. Yet TUMO has remained free for all participants, thanks to creative and flexible funding structures across its growing number of global locations.

The new TUMO Los Angeles, which is located in North Hollywood, is backed by public funding. The state of California contributed $23.5M through a grant, while the city kicked in $3M in operational support and $2.5M to build a performing arts center. The money followed strong support from Karen Bass, LA’s mayor; Adrin Nazarian, a city councilmember and former state lawmaker; and other prominent backers in this country.

“I’ve seen a lot of STEM programs, but this is one of the best in the world,” Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s founder and CEO, said after visiting a TUMO center in Armenia.

The centers are designed to be high-quality spaces. Even the small “box” hubs TUMO runs across Armenia are modern and inviting—former shipping containers that look like stations on the moon. “We want them to feel they’re in a world-class space that’s built for them,” Sethi says of TUMO participants.

Roughly 600 teens already are learning at the LA center, with 500 more on a waiting list. With more funding, Hescock says, TUMO could hire additional staff to serve all those students.

The nonprofit plans to expand to more U.S. cities. The goal is to begin with big markets like Atlanta, NYC, and San Francisco, says Hescock, then move into cities with large shares of high-need teens, like Detroit, Memphis, and New Orleans.

Sethi, who is based in Mumbai and attended Macalester College, was a veteran consultant when he first encountered TUMO’s results with students. “I saw the data and I didn’t believe it,” he says. And while TUMO requires serious resources, Sethi is optimistic about the program’s growth potential.

The Kicker: “We have the resources in the world to make spaces like this,” he says.