As the SVHEC leaders sought opportunities for workforce education initiatives, they turned to local technology providers to better understand their IT staffing needs. SVHEC collaborated with managers at the large, local Microsoft datacenter. Together, this regional higher education institution and global tech giant discussed what type of IT curriculum would provide a steady pipeline of qualified IT talent to fuel local IT business needs. Ultimately, the SVHEC selected the CompTIA certifications and subsequently developed the curricula and instructional materials for the SVHEC IT Academy. This collaboration provided local residents with training for sustainable IT career pathways and provided the technology companies with qualified IT talent to support their datacenters.
RESULTS • Over the past five years, the IT Academy has grown to be the SVHEC’s most successful job training program. • The IT Academy success has stimulated donations of equipment and scholarships, as well as grant funding. Together these have helped provide relevant hands-on experiences, recruit local students, and furnish instructional spaces. • The IT Academy has expanded to include high school dual enrollment, serving as foundational instruction for youth preparing for tech careers. • Using the IT Academy’s applied learning hands-on labs model, Microsoft formalized the Data Center Academy (DCA) Program in 2018. • Microsoft has sponsored multiple DCAs in other states, as well as Dublin, Amsterdam, South Africa, and Sweden.
LESSONS LEARNED: KEYS TO SUCCESS
• Employer-driven: The SVHEC collaborated with regional employers to identify the IT skills required to meet datacenter job requirements. The SVHEC then developed the initial curricula to meet their needs. SVHEC leaders continue to actively engage with employers and make curricula adjustments to ensure a regional supply of qualified IT job candidates. • Employability skills: The SVHEC integrates critical soft skills into the curriculum to help students obtain and then keep their jobs. Soft skills training includes resume and cover letter writing and mock interviews to prepare students for the end-of-class job fair. • Realistic training settings and scenarios: The IT Academy replicates a datacenter setting complete with racks, a ticketing system, and biometric reader. Hands-on labs have students perform tasks and solve problems they will encounter on the job. Employers report that IT Academy graduates are often ready to work independently sooner than other new employees. • Vendor neutral CompTIA certifications provide a superlative educational foundation for a wide variety of entry-level IT jobs. CompTIA certifications are also great resume builders for incumbent IT professionals seeking to advance their careers. A History of Successful Collaborations By 2010, Southern Virginia had successfully recruited two large datacenters, Microsoft and HP (now Perspecta), to a county neighboring the SVHEC. The datacenter operators had difficulty recruiting workers. With a dearth of local job applicants with IT skills, the datacenters were obliged to hire IT workers from Richmond, VA, and Raleigh, NC, few stayed in Southern Virginia for more than a year. These initial employees preferred to return – now with more experience – to metropolitan locales. The high employee turnover created persistent recruitment needs for Microsoft and HP. Community leaders became aware of the IT pipeline gap and contemplated how to develop a tailored solution. “The Higher Ed Center has a history of listening to the voices of local companies to help fulfill workforce problems and source workforce needs,” said Hope Harris-Gayles, SVHEC Associate Director of Communications and Outreach. “We knew we needed to create our own skillset if we wanted to keep these tech companies here.” THE FULL STORY
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