WSU Tech’s $6,000 IT training boot camp aims to put students in jobs after 16 weeks
WSU Tech is announcing the launch of a new cloud computing and application development program that promises to train students for in-demand IT jobs in just four months.
Jennifer Seymour, WSU Tech vice president of general education and applied technologies, said that as businesses have been forced to rethink their operations during the pandemic, the technical college has identified a need for dynamic IT training in Wichita.
“Employers are experiencing a higher demand for developers and individuals knowledgeable in cloud computing,” Seymour said at a Thursday news conference.
Microsoft defines cloud computing as “the delivery of computing services — including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence — over the Internet.”
“We’ve witnessed this increase in demand right here in Wichita,” Seymour said. “The number of businesses and industry partners coming to us asking for individuals to fill their workforce needs in IT has not only increased, it’s almost doubled.”
A program description on the WSU Tech website says the cloud computing and application development program is “a sequence of boot camp-style courses designed to produce a junior software developer that is fluent in C#, Python, and JavaScript coding languages.”
Seymour said the program will propel students “straight into a high-demand, high-wage career” in as little as 16 weeks.
“If you have no experience in IT, don’t let that stop you from exploring this opportunity,” she said. “We’re going to meet you where you are and help you be successful and find a job at the end of these 16 weeks.”
After the boot camp, students will have the option to complete a two-year, 65-credit-hour associate’s degree that costs $14,180. WSU Tech spokesperson Mandy Fouse said the cost of the initial four-month training is $6,000.
During the boot camp, students will complete most of their coursework online while attending four hours of “flexible, facilitated lab time” at Groover Labs, the product development lab and coworking center that launched in 2019.
“My experience in the industry is, it’s better to learn enough, get started, and then you learn more, move up the ladder,” said Groover Labs co-founder Curt Gridley. “I think this kind of quick entry into the industry will really jazz up that kind of path.”
Neelima Parasker is president of SnapIT Solutions, the Overland Park-based technology and training solutions company that partnered with WSU Tech to develop its cloud computing curriculum.
Parasker said prospective students will have to learn to adapt and stay flexible in a rapidly expanding IT field.
“What we do in our training is provide the first few steps for the students. We provide the ability to self-learn, give them the ability to understand what they’re learning and really give them exposure to what opportunities the IT industry really has,” Parasker said.
“The knowledge that you bring in and your passion to learn more are the only two things that you need to unlock.”
Fouse, the WSU Tech spokesperson, said the first cloud computing boot camp will start on Jan. 31.