Tech Collective seeks workshop proposals addressing skills gap for new IT workers

PROVIDENCE – Tech Collective is seeking proposals to design and provide a work force development clinic to help new/transitioning workers obtain skills for entry-level employment in information technology.
The workshop – slated to be called RI Works IT Boot Camp – is the result of the findings of a 2007 skills-gap survey conducted by the technology-industry association.
“It is increasingly hard to separate information technology from business skills,” the study concluded. “Information technology education programs are focused on hard skills, but today’s employers see soft skills as the most important gap.” The association released the request for proposal for the workshop on June 21, 2010. The deadline for the RFP is noon on Friday, July 23.
Organizations responding to the RFP should look to address the soft-skills gap with a 12-14 week training program that would also include industry knowledge, experiential learning and job-search skills components.
The winning bid will be announced by Tech Collective near the end of August. The pilot program, which would start in September, is expected to train 15 new/transitioning (unemployed/underemployed) workers to obtain entry-level employment in the IT field.
The RI Works IT Boot Camp is part of the Industry Skills Development Initiative, funded by the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island and the Governor’s Workforce Board. The Tech Collective partnered with 16 Rhode Island-based companies through the IDIS Information Technology Advisory Council to design the requirements for the RFP.