Partnership between Apprenti and SkillStorm will leverage unique tech apprenticeship model to combat talent shortage, boost economic mobility, and provide direct pathways to tech jobs.
[Seattle, March 13] – National apprenticeship provider Apprenti and tech talent accelerator SkillStorm today announced a new partnership designed to help employers nationwide develop new pipelines of highly-skilled, diverse talent. SkillStorm’s unique training, combined with Apprenti's apprenticeship model, will help businesses bridge skill gaps and break down barriers to implementing and scaling apprenticeships in high-demand fields like cybersecurity and AWS Cloud DevOps.
“The pace of technological change is accelerating much faster than traditional four-year degree programs and other training programs can keep up, creating an urgent need for a more adaptable, innovative method of upskilling – and reskilling – the tech workforce,” said Jennifer Carlson, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Apprenti. “Apprenticeships may be a centuries-old idea, but when reimagined to suit the demands of an increasingly digital workforce, they hold profound potential to develop new tech talent aligned to employers’ unique and fast-changing needs.”
According to a recent survey, 95% of technology managers face challenges finding highly-skilled talent, especially with expertise in cloud architecture and security, privacy, and compliance. This so-called “digital skills gap” will only worsen without intervention, and the country’s education system is struggling to keep pace: more than one-third of the next generation of workers – Gen Zers – feel their education didn’t prepare them with the hard tech skills needed to be successful in their careers, and over half (56%) report having very basic to no digital skills education.
Facing the growing imperative of identifying and building stronger and more inclusive talent pipelines, employers are turning to alternative approaches to training and skill development like apprenticeship programs, which can prepare workers with in-demand skills, improve employee retention, and lower overall talent acquisition costs
“Forward-thinking employers are looking toward more proactive and equitable ways to onboard new talent and upskill their current workforce — but the work of building and sustaining apprenticeship programs can be challenging and paperwork-intensive for those starting from scratch,” said Joe Mitchell, COO of SkillStorm. “This is about removing friction from the apprenticeship process. In partnership with Apprenti, we’re expanding access to game-changing training that opens new doors to economic mobility at a time when more and more Americans see a college education as prohibitive due to rising costs.”
This partnership will leverage funding through the Good Jobs Challenge grant – awarded to Apprenti in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Commerce – to help substantially offset the cost of establishing high-demand tech apprenticeship strategies that help organizations build sustainable talent pipelines. Through its partnership with Apprenti, SkillStorm aims to place over 400 workers into apprenticeships by the end of 2024, making the company one of the largest hiring and training providers for tech apprentices in the nation.
Discover how SkillStorm and Apprenti can cultivate fresh pipelines of skilled tech professionals through registered apprenticeship programs by visiting https://info.skillstorm.com/ss-apprenticeships
About Apprenti
Apprenti is a registered apprenticeship program powered by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). It offers a proven, reliable way for underrepresented groups in the tech industry to start new careers through paid, on-the-job training. Apprenti is an industry-driven, state- and federally-recognized apprenticeship program focused on information technology positions such as software developers, network security professionals, and system administrators.
About SkillStorm
SkillStorm is bringing together Fortune 500 employers, universities, and government agencies to build tomorrow’s highly skilled tech workforce. As an Advanced AWS Training Partner and in cooperation with platforms like Salesforce and ServiceNow, we help working learners and aspiring tech experts build in-demand skills and earn industry-recognized certifications to compete in an increasingly dynamic economy. Our work is rooted in the belief that closing skill gaps and boosting economic mobility are two sides of the same coin, and that new approaches to training can help to both expand the pool of skilled tech talent and create new pathways to opportunity.
