CCRI Graduates 50 Students from Cloud Computing Program Using AWS Academy

Founded in 1964, the CCRI is the largest community college in New England, employing 300 full-time faculty and serving nearly 18,000 students in credit-bearing certificate programs and an additional 8,500 individuals in workforce development programs and adult education courses. The community college consists of four main campuses located in Warwick, Lincoln, Providence, and Newport, and it grants 2-year degrees, 1-year certificates, and short-term stackable credentials.

The CCRI’s decision to roll out courses geared toward cloud computing centered on its observations of job market trends. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global cloud computing market is expected to triple between the years of 2020 and 2028, generating $792 billion. Further, ReportLinker found that the United States has the highest adoption rates of cloud computing services, making it even more crucial for the CCRI to help close this skills gap. 

While designing cloud computing courses, the CCRI learned of many educational opportunities available through AWS Education Programs, which works with academic leadership to develop initiatives that align education to careers in the cloud. Additionally, the CCRI engaged AWS Partner Infosys to help it provide its students with internship opportunities. “We wanted to build courses and programs that were relevant to our regional employer base,” says Tekla Moquin, associate vice president of workforce partnerships at CCRI. “AWS was very responsive to our request for guidance and has been a true collaborator.”  

In fall 2021, the CCRI launched its first cloud computing training through its workforce partnerships division, which offers career development and professional development courses for individuals and businesses. Through this training program, students can gain a foundational knowledge of cloud essential skills, from billing and pricing models to basic security concepts. After successfully completing the course, the CCRI students receive a voucher to take the exam to become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, a credential that helps organizations identify and develop talent with critical knowledge related to implementing cloud initiatives. By spring 2022, over 50 CCRI students had completed this training program.

The CCRI also worked alongside the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, a representative business association of more than 1,100 local businesses, to upskill its employee bases. The CCRI worked with AWS Training and Certification, which is the only set of training programs and offerings built by the experts at AWS. Over the course of 12 weeks, the community college offered a series of various AWS trainings that helped promote cloud fluency within the regional workforce. In total, the CCRI had 20 participants from different business sectors join these trainings. 

With a sustained interest in cloud computing courses, the CCRI continued its collaboration alongside AWS to develop a 2-year associate’s degree in Cloud Computing and Networking Technology. The desired learning outcomes of this degree program include designing networking systems, applying cloud best practices to determine appropriate and effective solutions needs for customers, comparing data analytics techniques to analyze behaviors and trends in cloud and on-premises computing environments, and more. Additionally, the CCRI received support from Infosys in creating a capstone project, which will give students the opportunity to showcase their learnings to potential employers and compete for career opportunities.

Based on its experience, the CCRI will expand its IT training opportunities. In the fall of 2022, the CCRI will open the enrollment for its Cloud Computing and Networking Technology degree, which will require students to take 45 credit hours of specialized classes. The upcoming 2-year degree program will fully incorporate course materials from AWS Academy, including the AWS Academy Introduction to Cloud and AWS Academy Cloud Architecting courses. At the end of the semester, students will first attempt practice examinations for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and AWS Certified Solutions Architect—Associate, which is intended for anyone with 1 or more years of hands-on experience designing available, cost-efficient, fault-tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on AWS. Students who score a 70 percent or higher will then receive vouchers to take the actual AWS Certification examinations. These industry-recognized certifications serve to validate students’ technical skills and cloud expertise to potential employers. Students who previously took the noncredit training courses can convert their noncredit training programs to three academic credits for the degree program.

The CCRI currently has three AWS-accredited educators within the faculty. As the CCRI expands its cloud computing educational opportunities, it will also work toward upskilling more of its faculty on AWS.