Students and employers alike are recognizing the gap between what employers look for in potential hires and the skills, or lack thereof, that students possess post-graduation. The mismatch is leading to a labor shortage, whereas students view the phenomena as a lack of entry-level jobs.
The imperative to foster employability skills is a call to action that higher education institutions cannot ignore. “UNLV and its leadership are always in search of new approaches that can help bridge the gap between learning and work, particularly as we evolve to support a growing population of nontraditional learners,” said Joseph M. Miera, Vice Provost for Educational Outreach at the University of Nevada,
UNLV is not alone. Many universities are exploring creative partnerships and strategies to better prepare students and meet labor market demand through a new coalition launched by Skillstorm called Upskill Together, which partners public universities and major employers to provide free access to training and industry-recognized credentials focused on in-demand technology skills such as cloud computing, CRM, and automation.
U.S. employers listed approximately 3.1 million job postings in the tech industry in the first half of 2022, an increase of nearly 50 percent when compared to the same time period from 2021. “The widening gap between employer demand for technology workers and candidates to fill these roles necessitates new thinking and innovative approaches to bring more people from more diverse backgrounds and experiences into the tech workforce,” said Graham Hunter, CompTIA’s Executive Vice President for Global Sales. “The Upskill Together program led by SkillStorm and its academic and industry partners holds great promise. CompTIA is pleased to be a part of this important initiative.”
Upskill Together is led by a coalition of universities and employers including Salesforce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Pega, Florida State University, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The goal of the partnership is to expand student access to high-demand, industry-recognized technology skills. A core part of the initiative is its unique match scholarship program. For each participant who accesses training through one of the initiative’s university or corporate partners, Upskill Together’s one-to-one match scholarship program will provide the same training at no cost to a student from socioeconomically disadvantaged background, with a focus on supporting women, veterans, and others from groups that are historically underrepresented in the tech industry.
“For too long, the tech industry has treated widespread talent shortages and persistent equity gaps as separate and unrelated challenges — but in reality, they are two sides of the same coin,” said Joe Mitchell, COO of SkillStorm. “With the support of our partners around the country, Upskill Together match scholarships will accelerate economic opportunity for people from all backgrounds, providing pathways to the skills and industry credentials employers need to support their digital transformation initiatives today and into the future.”
The initiative’s university Founding Partners include:
- Indiana Wesleyan University
- Florida International University
- Florida State University
- Jacksonville University
- University of Central Florida
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- University of Tampa
“AWS is on a mission to make it easier for all learners to access tech skills training, through our commitment to train 29 million people by 2025, our vast portfolio of education programs, and our collaborative efforts with education, government, industry, and impactful initiatives like SkillStorm’s Upskill Together,” said Kim Majerus, Vice President, U.S. Education, State and Local Government at Amazon Web Services. “The intentional effort through Upskill Together will not only help close the tech skills gap, but will also introduce individuals to new career opportunities that they may not have considered without this initiative.”
“Our role in Upskill Together reflects our mission of expanding access to technology certification courses that can help our students, alumni, and community members access careers in the region’s fastest-growing industries as the demand for diverse tech talent continues to grow,” said UNLV’s Miera.
The U.S. workforce is at a pivotal crux as the pace of technology advancement supersedes the rate at which IT companies can fill positions with qualified candidates. Upskills Together aims to address the widening skills gap by directly tackling the challenges of access to skills learning opportunities.
Upskill Together and its Founding Partners welcome inquiries from employers or higher education institutions interested in joining the initiative and making a commitment to accelerating economic opportunity. To learn more or apply for a scholarship, visit www.upskilltogether.com.