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Google Starts Certificate Program To Fill Empty IT Jobs (axios.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: There are 150,000 open IT jobs in the U.S., and Google wants to make it easier to fill them. Today the company is announcing a certificate program on the Coursera platform to help give people with no prior IT experience the basic skills they need to get an entry-level IT support job in 8 to 12 months. Why it matters: Entry-level IT jobs are are typically higher-paying than similar roles in other fields. But they're harder to fill because, while IT support roles don't require a college degree, they do require prior experience. The median annual wage for a computer network support specialist was $62,670 in May 2016 The median annual wage for a computer user support specialist was $52,160 in May 2016. The impetus: Natalie Van Kleef Conley, head recruiter of Google's tech support program, was having trouble finding IT support specialists so she helped spearhead the certificate program. It's also part of Google's initiative to help Americans get skills needed to get a new job in a changing economy, the company told us.

6 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. They outsourced them all to India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I tried to get a it job, but even being trained at college i was stuck at a supermarket job now i’m unemployed.

    1. Re:They outsourced them all to India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There are thousands of IT jobs where I live, according to every job board. Of course 99% of those jobs are fake H1B visa scam postings, and the remaining 1% are earmarked for internal promotion purposes only. Perhaps you should wake up to the real world where there isn't any place with IT jobs.

  2. Re:Median annual wage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    live in the rural midwest. those are pipe dream numbers and $20-25k jobs in reality... with a 4-year degree and multiple certifications.

  3. What happened to on-the-job training? by Comboman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    while IT support roles don't require a college degree, they do require prior experience.

    At one time, companies would actually do on-the-job training to fill these kinds of positions. The employee was grateful for the opportunity and would stick with the company. The company would realize the investment they had made in the employee and keep them around. After decades of down-sizing, out-sourcing and job-hopping; I guess there's not enough trust on either side for that to work now.

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
    1. Re:What happened to on-the-job training? by geekmux · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What happened was companies would spend time and money training someone only to have that person leave and go work elsewhere.

      That's what happens when you hire managers too fucking stupid to understand the concept of contractually securing an employee for a reasonable amount of time after an investment is made.

      Obviously it's cheaper for a company to be afforded the flexibility of laying off IT staff any time they want. Can't have it both ways, so companies should stop bitching unless they're willing to secure their investment, which provides a benefit for all parties involved.

  4. Re: Job Requirements by Monster_user · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That is $50,00 a year median.

    If you can write Microsoft SQL, Oracle SQL, AutoIT, Visual Basic, Batch, Powershell and Bash scripts, create, deploy, and troubleshoot GPOs, maintain the antivirus solution and detect and report false negatives, deploy and maintain virtualization infrastructure, manage DNS, troubleshoot email issues, and troubleshoot phone wriring, that nets you an extra $10k.