CompTIA Helps Build New Tech Foundations for the Underemployed

The world of information technology can be a great opening for unemployed or underemployed people seeking new careers.

Problem is, training for these positions isn’t always easy—especially if you don’t have the funds to gain the necessary certifications. On the other side of the coin, finding talented, qualified employees can prove just as challenging for IT companies.

But CompTIA, which gives out more than a few of those necessary certifications, has been working to bridge the gap. In 2012, the association started IT-Ready  (opens in a new tab), an endeavor of its Creating IT Futures philanthropic arm, in Minnesota’s Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. In recent months, the foundation has moved to duplicate the program in other cities, including Philadelphia, Dallas, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

IT-Ready gives qualifying students the opportunity to learn the skills needed to succeed in the tech field and assistance in finding gigs. The program offers students eight weeks of free training.

“They’re taking their time to train us—you know, people who initially never had the opportunity to get into the IT field,” Gregory Ball, a recent graduate of the program, told CBS Minnesota  (opens in a new tab).

The program reports a 95 percent success rate in getting students their CompTIA A+ certification and 80 percent in securing them paid jobs.

“The prerequisites for the program are minimal, and the benefits are significant,” the tech blog Technical.ly wrote about the endeavor earlier this week  (opens in a new tab).

Ultimately, the association wants to emphasize that IT career paths require training, but the goals are attainable.

“You don’t need to be a math wizard or a programming savant,” CompTIA President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux said in a news release  (opens in a new tab). “Employers across all industries are looking for people with a passion for technology, the drive to solve problems, and the personality to work collaboratively as part of a team.”

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