SkillSmart and Per Scholas, a nationally recognized IT job training nonprofit, today announced a partnership to help ensure students in the National Capital Region are acquiring the skills that IT employers need.
Per Scholas delivers IT-Ready training, a tuition-free 8-week course, that prepares hard-working adults (18+) to obtain industry-recognized CompTIA A+ certification and begin careers in IT. Students are able to acquire jobs as desktop support specialists, help desk support, IT support analysts and field technicians. Nationally, 5,000 Per Scholas students have been trained to date, with more than 85% of participants graduating and obtaining industry certification, and 80% of graduates securing jobs.
SkillSmart uses a proprietary algorithm to match the skills employers need to the skills held by job seekers to create better professional fits between both parties. Where job seekers lack skills, SkillSmart highlights training opportunities to learn or improve skill sets so they become better qualified.
The partnership between SkillSmart and Per Scholas will build stronger connections between Per Scholas students and IT employers in the National Capital Region. Per Scholas students can use SkillSmart to build skill profiles that best demonstrate their ability to perform necessary job skills and showcase industry credentials to potential employers.
Per Scholas regularly reviews its curriculum to ensure it is training the most in-demand skills. Per Scholas will rely on SkillSmart to understand precisely what the employer validated skills are in order to deliver the most effective training content. The partnership will focus on the National Capital Region and expand to other locations in the future.
“SkillSmart is an ideal platform to ensure that Per Scholas or any workforce development training organization is able to keep up with the IT skills needed by technology companies,” said Bridgette Gray, Managing Director for the National Capital Region of Per Scholas. She continued, “To experience a platform that’s hands on with employers and job seekers, but also ensures there’s a link to education and training in order to build and gain additional middle skills, is a win-win. We are honored to be a partner with SkillSmart.”
“Partnering with Per Scholas’ innovative and nationally recognized program perfectly complements SkillSmart’s mission to prepare our middle skills workforce with the skills that employer need,” said Mike Knapp, Co-Founder of SkillSmart. “By driving from employer demand, SkillSmart will help Per Scholas continue their outstanding record of successfully placing its graduates in IT positions while helping the organization to scale nationally.”
About Per Scholas
Per Scholas is a national nonprofit offering free, high quality technology education, job training, and placement and career development opportunities to unemployed and underemployed individuals. Since 1998, nearly 5,000 have enrolled in its job training programs. The Per Scholas model has been twice recognized by the White House for its effectiveness serving the unemployed and proven successful through independent studies. For more information, visit perscholas.org, on Twitter @PerScholas and Facebook.
About SkillSmart
SkillSmart is a SaaS platform that provides a single source of connectivity between employers, job seekers and educators, helping employers identify and recruit new talent, and develop a pipeline to meet future talent needs. SkillSmart’s demand-driven approach equips users with a deeper understanding of their existing skills, market demand for those skills, and a clear pathway to gaining new skills. SkillSmart helps people become better qualified and more marketable by analyzing their skill sets to provide personalized career development through its accredited partners.
About The Author: SkillSmart
SkillSmart develops technology that helps people, communities, and employers improve their lives. We make it easier for anyone interested in filling, getting or keeping a job by re-inventing the way employers interact with potential job seekers. We use data to power our web-based platform and empower employers and industries to develop, grow, and nurture their employees and workforce.
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