The Dublin-based Digital Skills Academy is launching a free programme called TechElevate to help graduate job-seekers of ICT and computing courses upskill in order to work in areas such as web development and IT technical project management.
The aim of the TechElevate programme is to provide graduate job-seekers with ICT-industry certification and work placements so they can break into careers, such as those for web developers, or systems administrators for cloud infrastructure, as well as work in areas such as IT technical sales and IT technical project management.
The programme is part of the Irish Government’s Momentum initiative, whereby €20m has been allocated this year to provide free education and training for up to 6,500 people.
TechElevate will be free of charge for eligible job-seekers and will offer a mix of industry-focused skills training alongside helping participants develop workplace skills.
ICT-industry certification will be provided from the HP Institute, Microsoft and CompTIA. According to the Digital Skills Academy, TechElevate will be one of the first programmes to offer HP ATA certification in cloud solutions.
The programme will kick off in May and there will initially be 80 places.
Paul Dunne, CEO of the Digital Skills Academy, said that while there is a reported 3,000 to 5,000 unfilled technology jobs in Ireland, there are still people who have primary degrees in ICT and who have not yet secured employment.
“This is either because they don’t have industry certification to validate their skills or they lack the required and elusive work experience demanded by ICT employers,” he said.
Course participants on TechElevate will undergo 12-week work placements with ICT companies during their stint on the programme.
The Digital Skills Academy is also on the lookout for more companies to get involved with the programme.
Graduate job-seeker image via Shutterstock
