Computer Science Week – Bridging the GAP with trained resources in the U.S.

With Computer Science week upon us I thought I would share how our teams are focused on bringing about change to solving the workforce talent gap in IT and IT related careers. Through our research and experience we know that teaching Computer Science skills can transform lives by creating sustainable career paths for underutilized populations, serving as a catalyst for social justice. Without access to rigorous computer science and STEM courses, underrepresented students have limited opportunities, awareness, and motivation to develop computing knowledge and skills.

Computer Science is a part of our everyday lives and our workforce needs will only continue to grow in demand, yet we have a few major issues that are holding back our ability to meet that demand. We need to ensure that all schools are teaching Computer Science to middle and high school age students. We are making progress, but still as of today less than half of our high schools across the nation teach Computer Science. Like reading and math, Computer Science must be taught in every school, or we will continue to leave those unaware and uneducated behind. We see the gap resulting from the lack of exposure and training in Computer Science in our graduates from High School and Universities. Employers expect new hires to come with portfolios of demonstrated experience, yet we are not providing the opportunity to build the capacity to gain the exposure and experience for employment.

The lack of talent creates a domino effect where employers seek resources outside of the U.S. to fill the gap in talent in order to expand their businesses with the right resources. According to the Board of Labor and Statistics (BLS), Careers in Information Technology IT and IT related careers are growing at a rate 22% higher than other careers. Based on data from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, the number of jobs that could have been filled by U.S. workers is growing year over year. The combined number of jobs across Software Developers, Computer System Analysts, Software Developers-Systems Software, Computer Programmers, Computer and Information Systems Managers, and General Computer Occupations combined in 2019 was 629,285 workers that could have been filled by U.S. workers had the pipeline been set up to support this need. That equals 62.5% of all H-1B positions placed in 2019.

Image: 2019 Data and Projected Job Market for NYS

Our nation is geared toward encouraging individuals to earn 4-year bachelor’s degrees. Yet a third of new job openings between 2010 and 2020 require “middle skills”, according to Anthony Carnevale, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. The career paths in IT occupations in many cases do not require a college degree but do require skills training. If you look at the career path of today's technology leaders, they began with entry level careers in tech and expanded their knowledge through certification programs designed by industry to meet the needs of employers within those tech occupations. Once trained how to learn and develop the foundational skills to work within the IT career occupations, they can expand on that knowledge, increase their salary and apply for occupations that move from middle to high skilled occupations.

At Nebula Academy and We Connect The Dots we continue to design and develop curriculum that supports industry needs. In our Software Engineering Bootcamp cohorts we support a diverse population of participants. Our program differentiates from other programs as we provide an immersive learning environment that is instructor led with coaching support to ensure participants success. We blend emotional intelligence training into our program curriculum. Our research shows that by integrating soft skills and psychological safety training we increase participants capacity to sustain through to graduation and ultimately employment.

Average entry level middle skilled IT and IT-related occupations have starting salaries ranging from $55,000-$80,000 annually. Through our ongoing certification training programs, participants can increase salary and grow into high skilled occupations in the IT and IT related fields. Participants can exceed salaries above $80,000 with potential continued increases based on personal investments in learning new IT career occupation skills and industry certifications.

This past year through a partnership with NYS Department of Labor, We Connect The Dots was awarded a grant to deliver a project "Pathways to Success,” a Software Engineering Bootcamp. We engaged with the LI Regional Economic Development Board through state and federal WIOA funding to skill underrepresented populations of unemployed, and underemployed workers. Through this WIOA funding, we changed the lives of participants who prior to participating in the” Pathways to Success Program,” had no clear career path. These participants are now in IT careers they once thought were unattainable.

Our programs are designed to support accessibility to training for those who would traditionally not be able to support investments in their career future. We have designed our course schedules and curriculum to deliver them either full-time days, or part-time evenings and weekends. Our training programs are immersive and allow for shorter time investments due to the nature of the delivery style. This format allows flexibility in participation and removing inhibitors to entry. Because of the immersive design of our programs, it is critical to incorporate office hours in addition to the regular teaching sessions. Online office hours are conducted by dedicated instructors, where participants have access to additional support for their learning needs. Office hours are available to participants’ evenings and on weekends. Our statistics show that those who take advantage of the office hours increase their skills and their employment success.

To learn more about Nebula Academy visit our website at https://nebulaacademy.com

To register for our upcoming Software Engineering Bootcamp visit our program page at https://code.nebulaacademy.com

To learn more about We Connect The Dots and to make a donation to support a scholarships that transform lives through careers in IT and IT related occupations visit WCTD at https://wctd.org

Learn about WCTD upcoming Code-A-Thon for students ages 13-18 taking place this January 2021. https://www.we-connect-the-dots.org/2021-codeathon

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