- AWS launches 3 new training programs as a part of the company’s commitment for providing 29 million people with free training by 2025.
- IT Skills 4U is helping connect individuals to cloud jobs through individualized support, job fairs, resources, and notifications regarding relevant jobs.
- IT Skills 4U is designed to help Ukrainians to access tech jobs by choosing from a range of AWS-designed courses.
AWS announced 3 new training initiatives that focus on helping Ukrainians rejoin the workforce, reskilling IT workers, and creating learning opportunities, as a part of its commitment to provide 29 million people with free training by 2025. These initiatives are part of a larger investment. The company currently offers over 500 free courses through AWS Skill Builder, self-paced training and interactive labs through AWS Educate, and many other training offerings.
Free workforce programs
Since 2020, AWS has reached more than 13 million people to provide access to cloud computing skills through free workforce programs. These initiatives are;
- IT Skills 4U: Specifically designed to help the people of Ukraine, this global initiative provides free training, AWS Certification vouchers, and career services support for Ukrainians globally, helping both those with little to no tech experience and experienced practitioners rejoin the workforce.
- AWS re/Start Associate: We are expanding the multi-week, cohort-based reskilling program, AWS re/Start, to include a new track aimed at helping unemployed or underemployed individuals looking to modernize their information technology (IT) skills to pivot into mid-level cloud careers.
- AWS Skills Center in Arlington, Virginia: We are opening an AWS Skills Center in Arlington, home to Amazon’s second headquarters, to continue supporting our local community with an in-person learning space offering free classes to the public.
IT Skills 4U is a free, comprehensive workforce development initiative that is designed to help Ukrainians to access tech jobs. Ukrainians around the world can choose from a range of AWS-designed courses, based on their level of IT knowledge and learning goals. AWS is also offering dedicated, in-person, instructor-led classes in Poland, which has the highest number of Ukrainian refugees. The following AWS Training and Certification programs are available through the IT Skills 4U portal:
AWS Academy
- AWS Academy empowers higher education institutions to prepare students for careers in the cloud and industry-recognized certifications.
- AWS works with two Polish universities, Warsaw School of Computer Science and WSB University in Dabrowa Gornicza, to offer the AWS Academy Cloud Foundations course to Ukrainians for free, without enrolling at either university. The course provides a detailed overview of cloud concepts, AWS core services, security, architecture, pricing, and support.
AWS Educate
- AWS Educate is a free online, self-paced learning program. New-to-cloud learners can access a large library of self-paced training and resources in Ukrainian as well as 11 other languages.
- Learners can access the AWS Educate Job Board to explore and apply to thousands of in-demand jobs and internships with organizations of all types all over the world.
AWS GetIT
- AWS GetIT encourages students 12–14 years old, especially girls, to discover career opportunities in technology.
- Participants of the program enter into a variety of curriculum activities, which lead to the AWS GetIT competition. During the competition, students use their newly learned skills to creatively design an app idea aiming to solve a social or environmental issue of their choosing.
- This year, we launched GetIT pilots in Poland and Ukraine. AWS GetIT is offered at a school in Wroclaw, Poland, and through Optima Distant Learning School, a free online educational platform for Ukrainian students.
AWS Instructor-Led Training
- AWS offers instructor-led training in person in Poland and remotely in other locations. These courses are delivered by AWS Training Partners (ATP) and AWS Authorized Instructors who adapt the coursework to the learner’s pace, include various learning modalities, and offer additional support from instructors (e.g., office hours).
AWS re/Start
- AWS re/Start is a full-time, classroom-based workforce-development training program that prepares individuals for careers in the cloud and connects them to potential employers. The program connects more than 98% of graduates with job interview opportunities.
- We have begun cohorts in Germany and Poland for Ukrainians, and we will continue to add more cohorts across various countries. A technical background is not required to apply.
AWS Skill Builder
- AWS Skill Builder is a digital learning center available in more than 200 countries and territories, allowing learners to quickly and easily access over 500 free on-demand courses ranging from foundational to advanced.
- AWS Skill Builder offers engaging content to meet different learning goals and styles in more than 15 languages. Individuals can also get course recommendations for learning plans aligned to job roles and technology areas, helping people access the most relevant content for their skill level.
More than 30 AWS customers and partners have committed to offering Ukrainian learners permanent jobs, internships, apprenticeships, and traineeships in cloud computing roles, including companies such as ABN AMRO Clearing Bank N.V., Altkom Software & Consulting, Digital Virgo, DXC Technology, EPAM Systems, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Ibexlabs, iTechArt Group, Kyndryl, Labra, OpsWorks Co., Profisea, SoftwareONE Academy, Software Development Association Poland, Spyrosoft, and Storm Reply UKI. AWS also announced its plans to hire people who attended the program, including into the AWS Tech U program and for roles in AWS Professional Services and other teams. Maureen Lonergan, vice president of AWS Training and Certification said,
« I’m humbled to work with government leaders from Ukraine and Poland, and nonprofits like ZPP in providing Ukrainians around the world with free and comprehensive training to help them reenter the workforce. With an increasingly digital world, AWS is responding by democratizing access to cloud skills training. We’re committed to developing programs that reach everyone wherever they are in life and in the world, as they rebuild toward a brighter future. »