To commemorate Military Appreciation Month in May, we hosted and unveiled several important initiatives to support veterans. On the heels of launching VetsinTech Academy, we have more exciting news to share. We’re thrilled to announce a new collaboration between VetsinTech, IBM Z and IBM’s SkillsBuild initiative. We’re joining forces to roll out an even greater level of education and training to support our veteran community. IBM has been a VetsinTech’s Employer Coalition member for a while now, and this new collaboration extends our relationship from employment into education.
Both organizations share a similar vision in helping veterans transition successfully into a career in technology. VetsinTech is building rich training pathways and IBM’s SkillsBuild platform provides extensive training and education to help veterans complete their learning journey. The VetsinTech Academy’s vision is to support veterans and military spouses with complete 'training pathways' and immersive programs to explore specific careers. For example, a veteran interested in an Enterprise Computing or Cybersecurity career will be provided basic training to more advanced certifications. Veterans can navigate course offerings and book training courses via the ViT Academy’s online portal. IBM SkillsBuild is a robust, forward-thinking platform that is freely available to anyone with military experience. IBM SkillsBuild is particularly valuable to veterans transitioning from active military duty into the civilian workforce with a curated roadmap of job-focused skills development so they can land the career of their dreams. IBM helps veterans plot the courses and certifications they'll need to meet requirements for select job opportunities successfully.
Both VetsinTech and IBM Z will be collaborating to expand the number of courses offered to veterans, with an emphasis on enterprise computing. VetsinTech’s 50,000+ veteran member community will benefit from the rich array of new training courses that IBM SkillsBuild is making available. The IBM Z community has expanded mentorship opportunities for veterans to participate, including one-on-one mentoring sessions. Working with VetsinTech and their extensive mentorship options, IBM Z and LinuxONE community will be able to sign up to join in even more mentoring opportunities.
I spoke recently to Sudharsana Srinivasan, IBM Z Ecosystem team, who shared these kind words with me. “We’re excited to collaborate with VetsinTech to bring technology career education opportunities to our veterans. Especially eager to share the newly launched Enterprise Computing learning journey on IBM’s SkillsBuild platform to enable and empower our veterans community.”
We all need to do more to support our 200,000 veterans who transition each year to the civilian workforce. Over the years, IBM has actively supported our veterans seeking a career in technology. We're so pleased with the way IBM has expanded its training and education programs to help veterans. We're thrilled to partner with IBM and believe at least 50% of veterans can land a role in the tech industry. Last year, VetsinTech trained more than 1,000 veterans, with 90% landing a new job or getting upskilled in a current position. We're excited to collaborate with IBM Z to drive new career opportunities for many more veterans! This vital partnership with IBM will prepare highly qualified veteran talent for technology-based job opportunities, reducing the critical skills gap affecting the business world.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing joint success stories and more updates on our combined efforts with IBM Z. Please join us by subscribing to our mailing list and follow us on Twitter @VetsInTech and Facebook.