Thirty recent Belton ISD graduates are on their way to earning two free IT certifications this summer.
Thanks to a $35,000 High Demand Job Training Grant funded by the Texas Workforce Commission and matched by the Belton Economic Development Corporation, the Belton IT Training Academy allows recent Belton high school graduates the opportunity to acquire fundamental IT skills and certifications that will hopefully help them land a job at the end of the eight week course.
"Technology is needed in almost all aspects of employment today. It may not be the full-time job that you do, but every company is dependent on technology these days, and so that will give a step up for all of our young people getting ready to enter the world of work," said Susan Kamas, the Executive Director of Workforce Solutions of Central Texas.
While some students signed up for the course to acquire a job at the end, others see this opportunity as the first step in helping them be successful in college and beyond.
"I really want to work in the IT field while I am going to college. So, this is going to give me a basis to go and find a job," said Jacob Embler, one of the training participants.
Embler's fellow participant is thankful Belton is covering the cost of the two certifications.
"I want to have a better understanding of how computers work and I want to be able to utilize that information in some way. I know that certifications will open up IT jobs," Alex Alafa said.
If this pilot program proves to be successful, Belton hopes to be able to expand the program in years to come.
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