Slashdot Mirror
Google Starts Certificate Program To Fill Empty IT Jobs (axios.com)
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.
They didn't say "entry-level" when reporting wages. Those are median wages for "computer network support specialist" and "computer user support specialist". So not "my first job on User Support" wages.
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.
I wish the article went into a quick view of the details. For anyone that doesn't want to look into it:
* Expectation is that you are giving 8-10 hours a week for 8 months to achieve the certification
* This is a subscription based service at $49/month
* You can apply for financial aid for the courses you are taking to relieve the cost burden
* Once you achieve the certification, then you will receive job seeking aid from Google/Coursera
Well, there are a couple of verifiable facts. Google does have some kind of certification program of an online nature. Axios.com is hosting a story about IT Jobs and Google. And Kim Hart got the Bi-Line for the story. It must be its first day on the job, because there is no reference to facts. So this article is Bull Shit.
Don't look in the usual places e.g. SV, SF
Have you looked in the basement?
Better yet, have you looked in abandoned properties, condemned buildings, former crackhouses, houses razed or burnt and slated for demolition, or even checked the basement with infrared scanners that locate heat signatures?
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
This is on par for the course with electricians and plumbers. The problem is in the 90-00s "VocTech" became a dirty word and *everyone* had to go to college.
This left a massive gap of people to fill that portion of industry which has been backfilled by H1Bs.
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.