High-profile employers open to credentials over degrees, report finds

Dive Brief:

Bootcamp grads are finding work with high-profile employers, potentially signaling employers' willingness to accept credentials in lieu of degrees, a recent Coding Dojo report shows. The greater majority of graduates of the global technology education company's programs have "secured lucrative careers," a report released Feb. 16 found.
About 95.3% of alumni obtained relevant positions within 12 months of graduating, and 89.1% of students obtained relevant positions within six months of graduating, according to the report. The average starting salary for alumni was $72,048, which is an average increase of 35.8% compared to salaries prior to completing the Coding Dojo program. Careers obtained by graduates include data scientists, software engineers, IoT full stack developers and IT field technicians. The data is based 240 survey results of alumni who attended Coding Dojo's software engineering programs, both fulltime and part-time, between Feb. 1, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2019. A third party auditing firm, Delivery Associates, independently verified the results, according to the report.
Companies that hired Coding Dojo alumni companies include Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Oracle. The company's training includes a career services program, according to the report.

Dive Insight:

Amid technical skills gaps in the workforce during coronavirus pandemic, many employers are becoming more flexible in sourcing talent.

More than half (58%) of tech employers surveyed by the Consumer Technology Association do not require a college degree for employment, according to a report published Oct. 13. Almost a quarter of respondents also said they are seeking candidates from "train-to-hire programs such as apprenticeships and bootcamps," the report found.

The skills gap must be "closed with even greater urgency to accelerate economic recovery," Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a June blog post. Microsoft and Coding Dojo announced in November that Coding Dojo users can earn Microsoft Azure certification through the platform. Upon graduating, students have the opportunity to participate in three separate certification programs and the cost of the final exam would be reduced as well, the companies announced.

Credential transparency is a method many U.S. states are implementing to address workforce gaps and meet economic goals, according to a report by Credential Engine released Feb. 10. There's an opportunity to promote individual mobility and economic growth through a "widespread adoption" of a standard evaluation for credentials, such as certifications, the organization said in the report.