The metropolitan research university has partnered with SkillStorm to help students, alumni and the community earn industry-recognized credentials and boost career mobility in the tech industry
ORANGE COUNTY, FL., November 1, 2022 — Advancing a commitment to prepare highly qualified talent for Central Florida’s fast-growing tech industry, the University of Central Florida has partnered with tech accelerator SkillStorm to expand access to courses that lead to credentials from major employers including Salesforce, CompTIA and Pega.
UCF Continuing Education will deliver the instructor-led courses as part of the new training initiative, starting November 1, 2022.
“We look forward to launching this initiative because unleashing the potential of all learners in our community is core to our mission at UCF,” said Thomas B. Cavanagh, Vice Provost for Digital Learning at UCF. “This partnership will help UCF enhance our ability to provide the training and skills that prepare learners to succeed while creating opportunity and upward mobility.”
With recent research suggesting that IT roles are among the most likely to face talent shortages in Florida in the coming decade, this partnership aims to increase access to high-wage, high-demand tech roles for the Central Florida community.
Through SkillStorm’s platform, learners will now be able to access a range of courses to prepare for certifications including AWS Cloud Practitioner, CompTIA Network+ and Salesforce Developer, as well as foundational courses in core topics like Java and object-oriented programming. These training courses will help students gain relevant skills that are essential in today’s workforce.
“UCF has a distinguished track record of accelerating opportunity for students with a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences,” said Vince Virga, co-founder of SkillStorm and a UCF alumnus. “By joining forces to offer training in the economy’s most in-demand tech skills, we’re taking the next step in an ongoing mission to boost economic mobility throughout Central Florida.”
UCF is a founding partner of SkillStorm’s Upskill Together initiative, which uses a one-to-one match program to provide free upskilling programs to learners from historically underserved communities for each individual who trains through the platform.
About SkillStorm
SkillStorm is bringing together Fortune 500 employers, universities, and government agencies to build tomorrow’s highly skilled tech workforce. Through partnerships with platforms like Pega, 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.
About the University of Central Florida
UCF is a public research university in Orlando invested in unleashing the potential within every individual; enriching the human experience through inclusion, discovery and innovation; and propelling broad-based prosperity for the many communities we serve. Founded in 1963, UCF and its 13 colleges offer more than 220 degrees from the university’s main campus, downtown campus, hospitality campus, health sciences campus, online and through multiple UCF Connect locations. UCF has ranked among the nation’s top 20 most innovative universities for five consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report.