According to Gaper, the talent shortage has led to a situation where only 65 positions out of every 100 open job roles get filled. However, despite this glaring shortage, young Americans are not flocking to colleges to be trained to fill this gap. The reason is that the tech-talent gap has also coincided with a time when university enrollment is lower than in recent history.
Not everyone can afford the ever-increasing tuition fees that give access to a college degree or is willing to take on the immense debt that may allow for an education. As a result, young Americans are exploring other non-traditional means to acquire tech qualifications.
TAKE ONLINE AND PROFESSIONAL COURSES
While traditional education has well-established benefits, directed online and professional courses cut through the red tape and generalities and go straight to the meat of the learning, giving students the practical skills they need to implement their tasks in a work context.
Thankfully, these methods of education are typically cheaper than almost any college or university tuition, and there are many options to choose from, whatever your tech specialty may be. Platforms such as Udemy and Coursera have a plethora of digital self-paced video courses for different skill levels, whether you're just starting out in tech, transitioning to another specialty, or upskilling to secure a bigger role.
STUDY-FROM-HOME OPTIONS
Besides the self-paced learning option, there are also more streamlined, focused, and career-ready options. This option is slightly different because it is more structured like a college degree but offers the flexibility to learn from home. These platforms offer access to qualified tutors and mentors to guide you through the learning journey and a professional certificate to show for it.
Platforms like UTS Online fall into this category. They are an online school that offers graduate certificate and Master's programs in fields ranging from advanced nursing and public health to business analytics, digital marketing, strategic communications, and more. UTS Online has also partnered with top organizations like Microsoft and Avanade to offer a business consulting certificate program.
These professional programs offer all the benefits of a conventional school from the comfort of your home, including live networking with qualified tutors and mentors. Rather than spending four years acquiring a tech degree in college, these platforms offer the option to acquire certification in record time. The streamlined nature of these platforms ensures that students do not spend too much time and money on courses and programs that would not serve them in a real-world scenario.
JOIN AN APPRENTICESHIP OR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Taking an online course or a certificate program is one thing, but putting it to real-world use is another. This is why apprenticeships are important. Properly structured apprenticeship programs are becoming popular in tech circles as a means to help you prepare tech talent to settle into their careers. These apprenticeship systems often begin as internships that offer a route to a permanent role.
Internships and apprenticeship systems typically last a few months to a few years. However, interns are often required to have some degree of knowledge and experience already in the field, so it is not uncommon for young Americans to embark on accelerated learning programs like Bootcamps, which are often organized by the tech organizations themselves or their affiliates. These bootcamps also serve as a pathway to internship opportunities and eventually to a permanent role.
In a world of rapidly declining interest in conventional education and a rapidly developing tech climate, a tech talent gap is always going to be inevitable, but perhaps with these non-conventional routes, the American tech space will be at full potential in no time.
©2024 Mansueto Ventures LLC; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
