Seattle Training Programs

The "Emerald City"

Seattle is a coastal port city and the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. There are approximately 3.2 million people living in the Greater Seattle area, with approximately 570,000 living in the city itself. Its official nickname is “Emerald City,” which refers to the evergreen forests found throughout Washington State. In addition to its forestry, the region is known for its access to natural bodies of water. The city is located between Lake Washington and Puget Sound, which connects to the Pacific Ocean. ?With so many natural attractions in the area, Seattle is a great place for outdoor activities such as sightseeing, hiking, camping, kayaking and other activities to help you experience the natural beauty of the region. On an American scale and at first sight, Seattle could pass, with its 700,000 inhabitants, for a large provincial city. But with its neighborhoods that develop between inlets, lakes and mountains, within reach of the vineyards, it is much more attractive than it ?seems. Over the past decade, it has made a name for itself as a city in full economic expansion where life is good. And this reputation is not usurped! ?The economy developed there in successive layers: old money, that of old families at the end of the 19th century who grew rich with fisheries, wood, gold or transport, then new money, that of engineers and software developers who joined Microsoft early on, before moving to Amazon or creating their own start-ups which they then sold or grew. And between the two, there is Boeing, which celebrates its centenary in 2016. ?When they talk about the attractiveness of Seattle, all its inhabitants immediately invoke the quality of life, the proximity to nature, the concern for the environment, whether they are multi-generational Seattleites or recent defectors. "Nature is extraordinary. There are three volcanoes visible from the city, including Mount Rainier, two mountain ranges, and the Puget Sound Inlet. And the first ski resort is 40 km away", lists Alain Crozier, president of Microsoft France, who lived in Seattle from 1999 to 2012.

Talent influx

Other Silicon Valley behemoths are opening substantial offices in Seattle, such as Google (2,000 employees), Facebook (1,000 employees), or Pinterest. In total, more than 250,000 people work today in the technology sector. Local universities can no longer meet the need for engineers (500 graduates for 4,000 annual offers), and many recruits come from other states or from abroad. ?Expatriates are not difficult to convince, attracted by the quality/price ratio of life, and the opportunities represented by the numerous technological companies present. ?Originally from Chicago, Andrew Alcorta, did not hesitate to move when a startup, launched in a Startup Weekend, offered him the position of product manager. Rover has now become the leader in Pet Sitting in the United States and announced a fundraising of 65 million dollars last July. This economic and demographic development is not without consequences: the cost of living increases significantly with, in particular, rents which become difficult ?to bear for citizens whose average salary (60,000 dollars) is half that of engineers. Transport infrastructure is struggling to meet the needs of the now 3.7 million inhabitants, who crowd on the main axes suffocated between the bridges and tunnels of the metropolis. Carlton Vann, director of development at Seattle City Hall, confirms that the city is growing too fast despite the many investments. Seattle is home to several illustrious universities, both public and private, including the University of Washington. Seattle is also considered the most literate city in America, with the highest percentage of residents earning a college degree. ?Whichever school you choose to further your education, you will find that Seattle is an excellent community for achieving your goals.

How do we solve the disconnect between the needs of employers and the desire of people seeking better careers?

The answer is short-term training. ?These programs, which can be as little as eight weeks and lead to certificates instead of degrees, teach people what they need to enter the job market ?or move up in their careers. And there's demand for such short-term training. 68% of adults responding to a 2020 Strada Education Network survey reported they were considering enrolling in non-degree training programs. Likewise, employers are increasingly looking at different ways to certify and verify specific job skills.

5 promising sectors in Seattle:

• ?The cloud: this is the region's flagship activity with 45% of the global market concentrated in the hands of Amazon and Microsoft.
• Artificial intelligence: Paul Allen, another billionaire benefactor of the Seattle ecosystem is very involved in this area with AI2 (Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence). ?Other players like Tencent or Baidu are opening AI labs, not forgetting Amazon and Microsoft.
• Gaming: nearly 400 companies (including BigFish and Nintendo) have taken up residence around Redmond and Bellevue and together represent 28 billion dollars in annual revenue.
• Aerospace: a sector driven by the historic presence of Boeing and the arrival of many highly innovative start-ups. ?Planetary Resources, for example, studies the exploitation of natural resources contained in asteroids.
• Authorized drugs: growing rapidly since the decriminalization of cannabis. The Privateer holdings group (500 employees) develops numerous activities, from the production of medical Cannabis (Tilray), to the information media (Leafly) via accessories (Marley Natural), or?pastry (Goodship).