FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
First of its kind 15 week RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp to provide industry-endorsed technical and soft skills training with goal of fulltime participant employment.
Providence, R.I. – Jan. 28, 2011 – Tech Collective, the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island, Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island, and TCP Learning, today announced the launch of the RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp.
The RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp is an industry created, endorsed, and engaged program providing its participants with the latest technical and soft skill trainings demanded by Rhode Island’s IT employers. This 15 week program is the first and only of its kind statewide. And, with an 11.5% (Dec. 2010) unemployment rate hovering throughout the state, the Boot Camp is aimed at getting people trained and prepared to succeed in Knowledge Economy careers – the IT industry is one of the fastest growing and highest paid industries across the country, projected to grow 20% between 2006 and 2016 in Rhode Island alone.
Sixteen unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders will pilot the Winter/Spring 2011 RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp program with a curriculum including: CompTIA and other technical certifications, industry tours and speakers, customer service skills, job seeking and interview coaching, and a four week internship-style experiential learning segment at a Rhode Island IT company or department. In the final stages of the program, Tech Collective and TCP Learning will be working with local businesses to help as many Boot Camp participants as possible be in the process of or have secured fulltime, entry-level industry employment.
“As an employer planning on hiring in the near future, the RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp is invaluable to us,” said Jim McAssey, Vice President of local technology company, Brave River Solutions, “We have shared a collaborative voice and role in the Boot Camp’s creation, and when it comes time to look at hiring these participants, we will know the quality of the training they have gone through. The Boot Camp is a great cause, one that is helping people enter into the IT field and increase the talent and viability of the Rhode Island technology community.”
In addition to Brave River Solutions, several other local technology leaders are participants of the Boot Camp, including: AIPSO, Atrion Networking Corporation, Dominion Diagnostics, EPAC Software, GTECH Corporation, Hasbro, Lighthouse Computer Services, PC Troubleshooters, RINET, and SIMULIA.
The RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp is owned and managed by Tech Collective, Rhode Island’s IT Industry Association and the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island’s Information Technology Industry Partner. The Boot Camp is funded through the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island and Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island’s Information Technology Industry Skills Development Initiative (ISDI) grant. TCP Learning is the contracted RI_WORKS_IT Boot Camp training provider.
Boot Camp Participants:
More than 70 Rhode Islanders inquired into the Boot Camp program and were screened in close conjunction with state netWORKri offices and TCP Learning staff. Further interviews and evaluations drove the selection of the final 16 Boot Camp participants. Currently unemployed or underemployed, the participants bring to the program with them a variety of education and career experiences, ranging from recent high school graduate to Yale University graduate, from former EMT trainee to career-long boiler mechanic. Two of the participants serve in the National Guard. Six of the participants are female and 11 are male, an approximate 50:50 ratio that rates far better than the industry average of one female technology professional for every four male technology professionals.
Boot Camp Content and Industry Representatives:
Over half of Rhode Island employers surveyed report they are inadequately staffed in IT and have difficulty in hiring needed skills sets, (Report of the Rhode Island Information Technology Skills Gap Task Force, published by Tech Collective, 2007, funded by the Governor’s Workforce Board Information Technology Industry Partnership Grant).
Based on the findings and recommendations of the IT Skills Gap Report, it was clear that content for the Boot Camp was critical, needing to not only teach proficiency in the technical skills, but also, and moreover, the soft, customer service skills. Tech Collective worked extensively with industry representatives from companies of all areas of specialty and sizes to garner first-hand strategic direction into the curriculum content, experiential learning opportunities, and overall approach the Boot Camp should entail.
Partner, Funder and Training Provider Insight:
“There are three critical and pioneering aspects to the Boot Camp,” said Kathie Shields, executive director of Tech Collective, “[1] it is created and driven by employers, [2] it is a symbiotic combination of technical as well as soft skills, and [3] it is designed and supported to get people into viable, sustainable, and in-demand jobs. This program has been three years in the making and we are ecstatic to be working with the Governor’s Workforce Board, Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island, TCP Learning, and, above all, the Rhode Island IT employers, to bring the Boot Camp to fruition and make a difference in not only the lives of sixteen people, but also our employers and community as a whole.”
“The IT Boot Camp is a great example of workforce development in action,” said Joseph J. MarcAurele, chairman of the Governor’s Workforce Board. “Our Industry Partnership, Tech Collective, has relied on input from the private sector to build a demand-driven program targeting those job seekers most likely to benefit from this intensive training. The Governor’s Workforce Board is particularly proud to have financed such an innovative and thoughtful approach to skill building and workforce expansion, and we hope that it serves as a model for other industry clusters in the New England region.”
“TCP Learning is pleased to bring our real world experience as a Technology business and RI employer into the classroom,” said Trudy Mandeville, CEO if TechComm Partners Learning. “We believe that our expertise in creating on-line knowledge building materials and courseware creates a very unique vantage point for us as the Boot Camp training and employment partner. We know what the marketplace is looking for in terms of entry level skills for IT professionals and we also know how to best train the Boot Camp participants. Our focus includes soft skills, networking, interviewing, and critical thinking skills as well as traditional IT training and certification requirements such as CompTIA A+.”
Media Invitation:
Media are invited to experience the Boot Camp and meet participants throughout its duration, with a graduation celebration to be held in late March. Please see contact Giselle LaFrance – 401-829-8321 – or Barbara Jackson – 401-232-9060 x14 – for dates and photo/editorial opportunities.
About the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island:
Since Governor Carcieri established the Governor’s Workforce Board in September 2005, the 17-member board has supported strategies to improve the existing skill base of the Rhode Island workforce and to anticipate the future needs of growing and emerging businesses. Since its inception, the Governor’s Workforce Board has made more than $46-million worth of strategic investments in Rhode Island that reward collaboration among the state’s employment, education and economic development entities. For more information, visit www.rihric.com.
About TCP Learning:
Powered by TechComm Partners, TCP Learning is a company with a passion for delivering outstanding learning solutions to our customers. We assist our customers in achieving their business goals by providing timely, cost-effective solutions to improve performance. We design, develop, and implement workforce development programs that help solve our customers’ performance problems, increase their customer’s satisfaction, and control costs. For more information, please visit www.tcplearning.com.
About Tech Collective:
Tech Collective is Rhode Island’s Information Technology and Bioscience Industry Association. Uniting industry, government and academic stakeholders, our mission is to inspire, engage, educate and employ a high-skill, high-wage Knowledge Economy in Rhode Island. Since its transition from the Rhode Island Technology Council (RITEC) in 2004, Tech Collective has received more than $6M in federal, state and private grant funding to foster industry collaboration, awareness and development through events and initiatives including: GRRL Tech, Women in Technology, Bio-Ed, Tech Laureates’ Night and STEM-based education and training programs for K-16 students as well as incumbent and transitioning workers. For more information about Tech Collective, please visit www.tech-collective.org.
Contacts:
Giselle LaFrance | Tech Collective
401.829.8321 | glafrance@tech-collective.org
Barbara Jackson | TCP Learning
401.232.9060 x14 | barbara@TCPLearning.com
