SkillStorm, a tech talent accelerator that hires, trains, certifies and deploys IT talent in the most in-demand technologies, and Jacksonville University, northeast Florida’s top private university, today announced they will provide the country’s most comprehensive instructor-led, online advanced technology courses that include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Salesforce and Pega. This is the only suite of all three of these in-demand, cloud-based courses currently offered in the U.S. market.

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“Demand is growing exponentially for skilled cloud practitioners, with over 81,000 AWS job posts on LinkedIn alone right now. SkillStorm is partnering with select higher education institutions like Jacksonville University to offer advanced training in these high-demand technologies,” said Joe Mitchell, COO of SkillStorm. “Unlike self-paced courses, our courses inspire achievement and completion because they’re facilitated by SkillStorm’s experienced instructors under the academic direction of Jacksonville University, which has a reputation for delivering high-quality technology programs.”

Mitchell continued, “Companies want employees with a college degree plus an industry credential, which this partnership delivers. This helps elevate and distinguish college graduates in the job market. It’s about accelerating people’s ability to learn and master new skills, broaden their career opportunities and increase their earning potential. That’s the difference.”

The courses, which are part of the SkillStorm Accelerator Program, use real-world projects and simulated environments led by instructors who bring years of knowledge, practice and experience to the classroom, providing students with the necessary skills to obtain industry-recognized certifications at an affordable tuition rate. The self-driven classes offer working professionals the flexibility to attend when convenient for them, while also providing access to one-on-one mentoring and training from industry-certified instructors and opportunities to collaborate with classmates. Program graduates receive an industry certification in one of the three highly specialized, in-demand tech skills, allowing them to immediately accelerate their careers and increase their earning potential. Further, courses are completed in 4-10 weeks, less than half the time it takes with other training programs on the market. For employers, the program enables them to rapidly upskill team members in highly specialized skills, which helps with retention, professional development benefits and ultimately client delivery.

“The partnership between Jacksonville University and SkillStorm provides benefits across the board from professionals gaining the opportunity to elevate their skills and accelerate their careers to commercial and government organizations obtaining access to trained and certified talent,” added Dr. Christine Sapienza, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs of Jacksonville University. “Collaboration between the public and private sector is critical for solving the IT skills gap and by combining our different strengths, including SkillStorm’s advanced tech expertise and Jacksonville University’s commitment to innovative educational programming, we’ve created an academic solution to this ongoing challenge.”

In keeping with the mission to diversify the pool of talented, skilled tech professionals, SkillStorm and Jacksonville University are offering full scholarships designed to expand access to specialized training opportunities for under-represented individuals such as minorities and women. Partial scholarships for active military and veterans will also be awarded.

The first set of courses will launch on February 8, 2021 and include AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification, AWS Solutions Architect Associate Certification, Salesforce Administrator Certification, Pega Certified Systems Architect and Pega Certified Decisioning Consultant. Courses vary in length and tuition fees. More details and registration information can be found on Jacksonville University and SkillStorm’s website.

SkillStorm and Jacksonville University first launched their partnership in September 2020 to provide paid tech training and employment opportunities to recent college graduates and veterans, with or without technology experience.

About Jacksonville University

Named one of the Best Regional Universities in the South for more than 15 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report, Jacksonville University is a premier private institution in northeast Florida. Founded in 1934, the University offers more than 100 majors, minors, and programs, including in-demand degrees in Nursing, Business, Biology and Marine Science, Engineering, Finance, as well as those in the more contemporary and specialized fields of Aviation, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Film, Animation, and Sports Business. Jacksonville University, with its four colleges, five schools and two institutes, is located in a beautiful riverfront setting in suburban Jacksonville, across the St. Johns River from downtown and just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. The 240-acre campus includes a half-mile of riverfront, oak-lined paths, and a mix of historic and new campus buildings.

About SkillStorm

SkillStorm is building the elite tech force for organizations in need of highly skilled, specialized tech talent. By hiring, upskilling and deploying professionals to work on advanced technologies and platforms such as Pega, Salesforce, AWS and ServiceNow, SkillStorm equips companies with a ready-made domestic tech workforce.

An innovation and opportunity accelerator, SkillStorm provides U.S. businesses and government agencies with fully formed and trained teams with all the required experience, skill sets, certifications and clearances, either directly to its client sites or working from its own delivery centers. Visit www.SkillStorm.com to learn more.