Tag: AWS re/Start

In Virginia, where AWS has an important and growing presence, AWS is investing significantly in supporting skills and education programs to promote a thriving workforce. The AWS Fiber Optic Fusion Splicing Certificate Course is one of the programs AWS runs locally to help individuals get the skills necessary to repair and install fiber optic cables. Recently, AWS held a training at the AWS Skills Center in Arlington in collaboration with Northern Virginia Community College. Learn more about how programs like these are supporting the local workforce in Virginia.

AWS re/Start is a no-cost, cohort-based, workforce development training program that first launched in the MENA region in June 2021. The program helps individuals build cloud computing skills and connects participants with employment opportunities with local employers. Over one year on from the graduation of the first AWS re/Start cohorts, AWS re/Start congratulates the many program participants, across nine countries in the region, that have launched their careers in the cloud.

The backbone of the internet is crisscrossed with a network of fiber optic cables, carrying internet, TV, and telephone data that most of use every day. Over a two-day period, 33 individuals mostly from Southwest Virginia took part in the AWS Fiber Optic Fusion Splicing Certificate Course, a no-cost two-day training providing students with lectures and hands-on practice with fiber optic installation and repair. The course was held November 14-15 at Mountain Empire Community College (MECC), in Appalachia, Virginia, and in collaboration with MECC and the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission.

At AWS, we know these are challenging times and we remain committed to supporting nonprofits. This blog post outlines a sampling of programs and resources for nonprofits, including grants and credits, open data access, cloud training, educational events, and more, designed to enable organizations of all sizes to overcome barriers to technology adoption, while enhancing the scale, performance, and capabilities of mission operations.

The Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region is riding a wave of innovation, which relies heavily on a digital workforce equipped to meet the rising demand for cloud computing. Today, AWS announced that we have trained more than two million people across APJ with cloud skills in the past decade. To accelerate this, we launched AWS Skill Builder, a digital learning experience available in more than 200 countries and territories, which will provide free skills training to millions of people around the world, in addition to other training programs.

Earlier this year, Amazon pledged to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses by 2024. This is an increase of our previous commitment to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses by 2021—a goal we’ve already surpassed, with about 40,000 currently working for Amazon. At AWS, we are committed to developing and hiring veterans and their spouses into roles focused on STEM. Check out the multiple programs, trainings, and resources available for veterans and spouses.

When I travel around the world, I try to spend time with women leaders in different organizations, industries, and walks of life. In the time we have together, I try to learn about their hopes and dreams. In those conversations, I hear both a desire to think big about the future and a struggle to balance the commitments and responsibilities that fall almost exclusively to women. The numbers are clear: the percentage of the women participating in the global labor force is declining. I recently wrote about steps we can take to recover from the last year. Today, I want to share three stories that make me hopeful that we can collectively achieve gender parity. 

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, by 2030 most of the United States’s economic and employment growth will be generated by 30 percent of the population, living and working in 25 mega regions. In the high-growth tech sector, employers cannot find enough urban employees to fill available jobs. Meanwhile, nearly 25 percent of Americans live in rural areas characterized by shrinking employment in traditional industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. Is migration from rural areas to mega-cities the only solution? Do rural workers have the skills needed to transition to tech sector jobs? In this Q&A, Brendan Walsh of the 1901 Group talks to the AWS Institute about opportunities to build cloud technology skills and employment in rural communities in the United States. Brendan dispels some of the myths about barriers to rural skill building.

Partners in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN) are increasingly adopting cloud and rapidly transforming their businesses to help their public sector customers achieve their missions. This transformation can create a challenge for organizations without the proper skills in their workforce. There is no quick and easy way to fill the skills gap, but there are a number of areas to consider – and a number of AWS programs and partners that can help.

In Paris, 17 young adults – many of whom didn’t have experience in technology until a few months ago – are starting to interview for positions for full-time cloud computing roles with potential employers including D2SI, Capgemini, and Gekko. How is that possible? They just graduated from AWS re/Start, a new digital skills training program in France that aims to support those who are unemployed or underemployed – usually knowing little or nothing about information technology (IT) – to become cloud computing specialists.