AWS partners with government to address IT skills gap
AWS re:Start will look to train 1,000 veterans and disadvantaged youths in specialist IT roles
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched a training scheme in conjunction with the government to address the IT skills shortage in the UK.
Launched in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), The Prince's Trust and QA Consulting, the AWS re:Start programme will seek to train 1,000 military veterans and disadvantaged individuals in digital skills to help fill the void in IT specialists.
Speaking at the official launch of the scheme and AWS' UK datacentre region, which went live last month, at Westminster's Millbank Tower, AWS UK and Ireland managing director Gavin Jackson said a key feature of the scheme will be placements within some of AWS' key channel partners after the training has finished.
"AWS re:Start provides a foundation for people where, no matter what their background, they will be able to restart their careers and build a new future for themselves - while playing an important role in contributing to Britain's digital workforce," he said.
"The programme makes job placement a key stage in its delivery and I'm delighted to announce that dozens of firms across the UK, some of the most respected and innovative firms across the country, have already committed to offering work experience, apprentice placement, and temporary and full-time jobs for those that have this training."
Jackson listed a number of firms who have pledged to help those that come out of the training scheme - including global giants like ARM and Tesco bank; and channel firms including Cloudreach and KCOM.
Partner benefit
Speaking to CRN after the launch, Jackson said that while AWS' channel partners will play a role developing the new talent, they will also get the much-needed specialists they need to plug gaps in their own staff as they go through their own digital transformations.
"It's interesting because our partners have been one of the first movers in this programme," he said.
"It's a golden age for technology which is really putting pressure on the job market and the skills market so if we can do our bit with QA [consulting] and our partners to train and put placements in the market then that can only be a good thing.
"[Our partners] require these skills for themselves to help their own customers - who also happen to be our customers - so it's a very happy triumvirate between ourselves, our partners and our customers."
James Monico, co-founder of cloud MSP and AWS partner Cloudreach, told CRN that channel partners will play an important role in making sure that jobs are available for those who complete the scheme.
Cloudreach itself will be an active participant in the initiatives and will have technologists involved in the training.
"It's truly a fantastic initiative because if we look at the UK market the government has done a huge amount to try and accelerate the creation of STEM graduates and they have done a meaningful job of that, but it cannot in any way keep up with the demand for computer scientists and technologists to power our digital economy," he said.
"It isn't just a charity play. Amazon genuinely needs more people to promote their platform; and partners and customers need qualified people to actually build out the new products and services."
UK investment
The boss of UK-based managed hosting provider Simon Hansford recently branded AWS' UK datacentre play a "PR win", claiming they are not making any real investment in the UK, but Jackson told CRN that this programme proves otherwise.
"It's a genuine play and that's why I really wanted to emphasise that this on day one," he said.
"We really didn't want our job to stop [at training people] because it would have looked more self-serving or like a throwaway CSR [corporate social responsibility] thing if we hadn't gone the extra mile and said ‘well it's not just enough to train people, we then need to place people'.
"Since we don't have an endless list of people that we need to hire, it was a very natural outreach to speak with our customers and partners to see if they'd get involved with re:Start and I've been slightly surprised but thrilled with the response."
Government backing
The AWS initiative was praised by secretary of state for culture media and sport Karen Bradley, who was in attendance at the event and spoke candidly about the challenge facing the UK IT and education sectors - claiming that 126 million adults in the UK lack the basic IT skills needed to function in modern society.
Bradley highlighted government schemes including the school computing curriculum which was launched in 2014 and new legislation which will create free, publicly funded IT training courses for adults.
"There is no beating around the bush," she said. "Given the level of change and the pace of change we do not today have enough people with the digital skills that we need for the future.
"It is incredibly important that we make sure we upskill people now ready for those developments.
"This is an opportunity for people from all parts of the country and all walks of life to retrain and be part of a series of professions that have the most incredibly strong career prospects, so I am delighted that Amazon Web Services is starting this initiative."