The rise of mobile technology, cloud computing, and“ Big Data” over the last decade gave rise to capabilities that businesses did not previously have. Yet training programs across the county were not meeting this new demand.
“ We tend to think that all these tech jobs are in Silicon Valley … the truth is two-thirds of these jobs are in non-high-tech industries like healthcare, or manufacturing,” said President Obama while at the conference.“ A lot of these jobs don’ t require a four-year degree in computer science … folks can get the skills they need for these jobs in newer, streamlined, faster training programs.”
The initiative would be called TechHire, a call to action for local communities to collaborate in helping employees fill these critical technology jobs. In 2015, the program started with more than 300 employers in 20 communities across the United States to pilot accelerated training programs. In addition, TechHire would also have larger private companies and other national organizations that would commit to providing tools to support those communities in the effort. Finally, the Department of Labor would commit to pledging over $ 100 million in federal grant funding to get it started. The initiative has now become a success with the number of communities more than doubling— and now including Daytona Beach.
Daytona State College’ s( DSC) TechHire initiative is among the newest approaches being taken to fuel the region’ s manufacturing workforce pipeline. Made possible through a $ 3.7 million United States Department of Labor grant awarded last
summer, the college is leading a consortium to provide at least 400 people with pathways to careers in advanced manufacturing and information technology-related fields.
Shrie Allen, Director of the TechHire program at( DSC), said“ This spring DSC will begin offering qualified individuals free accelerated boot camps leading to industry-recognized credentials in such disciplines as Industrial Machine Maintenance, Certified Production Technician( CPT), National Institute of Metalworking Skills( NIMS) certification, Additive Manufacturing, CompTIA A +, Network +, Linux +, and a wide variety of other IT-related certifications.”
“ These are programs that address the top needs of our region’ s manufacturing partners,” Allen said.“ Our goal is to provide the kind of quick training that can get a person into the workforce pipeline where they can begin earning money.”
It is also the first step in a career ladder where additional education and training can be obtained at the Advanced Technology College( ATC), notes Dante Leon, who heads DSC’ s College of Business, Engineering and Technology.“ These are
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