As the SVHEC leaders sought opportunities for workforce education initiatives, they turned to local technology providers to better understand their IT staffing needs. SVHEC collaboratedwithmanagers at the large, local Microsoft datacenter. Together, this regional higher education institution and global tech giant discussedwhat type of IT curriculumwould 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 residentswith training for sustainable IT career pathways and provided the technology companieswith 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 sponsoredmultiple 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 tomeet datacenter job requirements. The SVHEC then developed the initial curricula tomeet their needs. SVHEC leaders continue to actively engage with employers andmake 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 andmock 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 andHP (nowPerspecta), to a county neighboring the SVHEC. The datacenter operators had difficulty recruitingworkers. With a dearth of local job applicantswith IT skills, the datacenterswere obliged to hire ITworkers fromRichmond, VA, and Raleigh, NC, fewstayed in Southern Virginia for more than a year. These initial employees preferred to return – nowwithmore experience – tometropolitan locales. The high employee turnover created persistent recruitment needs for Microsoft andHP. 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 sourceworkforce needs,” saidHope Harris-Gayles, SVHEC Associate Director of Communications andOutreach. “We knewwe needed to create our own skillset if wewanted to keep these tech companies here.” THE FULL STORY
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