The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is pleased to announce their collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), and its AWS Educate program, to create a certificate program enabling tens of thousands of students with the opportunity to pursue tech careers in the cloud computing industry. The cloud computing program is expected to be available for Fall 2019 to students who attend Mesa Community College and Spring 2020 at Phoenix College, with a goal to scale across Maricopa to other colleges. This is part of Amazon’s broader workforce development and training initiatives for residents across Arizona.
Looking at the broader occupational forecast, Arizona and Phoenix are projected to see one of the largest percentage gains in Computer and Mathematical Occupations. The local demand for cloud computing talent is increasing in Maricopa County, and careers are projected to grow faster than the average rate for all employment over the next decade. The Arizona Department of Labor estimates an increase of 29 percent for these roles by 2024.* With the Greater Phoenix region expecting to add 25,000+ IT jobs in the next decade, the need for a well-equipped technological workforce is paramount.
“Offering programs like cloud computing and blockchain technology reinforce key initiatives to align education programs around the skills needed in Arizona’s economy,” said Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick, MCCCD Chancellor. “Our collaboration with Amazon Web Services is an exciting step forward to closing the employability gap and preparing the community for the workforce of today and tomorrow.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the Maricopa Community Colleges on this new academic program,” said Ken Eisner, Director, Worldwide Educational Programs and head of AWS Educate, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “The speed at which MCCCD turned the possibility of cloud computing curriculum into the immediacy of a Fall 2019 launch demonstrates their commitment to their students. We are proud to work with MCCCD in building pathways to cloud computing careers and helping to diversify the pipeline for tech talent in Arizona.”
As part of this collaboration between the AWS Educate program and MCCCD, students in Maricopa County will have access to a 15-credit certificate program that focuses on in-demand cloud computing skills as soon as Fall 2019. Additionally, Mesa Community College plans to embed the AWS framework into their blockchain curriculum, allowing students to quickly deploy a blockchain project using AWS.
Through AWS Educate, students have access to AWS Promotional Credits for use with real-world, project-based assignments; instructional content and activities; micro-credentials; and the AWS Educate Job Board for direct hiring by AWS, members of the AWS Partner Network (APN), and AWS customers in Arizona and around the globe.