Dive Brief:
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CompTIA announced it will partner with Microsoft Corp. on the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy (MSSA), an 18-week training program designed to help veterans prepare for careers in IT, according to a press release.
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Two of CompTIA’s skills certifications are now accepted as prerequisites by MSSA, and veterans with either one or both certifications can use them for two of the four Learning Paths requirements. Once veterans complete the MSSA program, they are guaranteed a job interview at Microsoft or one of its hiring partners.
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Many U.S. employers across industries and markets are in need to trained and certified tech professionals, and military veterans with a tech background have the necessary skill sets for the talent pipeline, said Joe Padin, CompTIA's VP for U.S. federal and education sales.
Dive Insight:
Tech skills are in high demand, and companies are looking to fill positions any way they can. Microsoft and CompTIA want to help match military veterans to these jobs by giving them the training they need to step into a tech career.
The MSSA program can help veterans fill jobs in a broad number of tech areas, including cybersecurity. There are roughly 300,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. today, according to Symantec. That figure is expected to grow to 1.8 million jobs by 2022, according to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan for the Center for Cyber Safety and Education.
The skills military veterans learn as part of their service are often viewed as complimentary to tech jobs. Last fall, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced an initiative to provide free cybertraining for veterans living in Virginia interested in working in the cybersecurity sector.
