Building tech education programs for Washington jobs

This week the Seattle Times reported that the Seattle area is tied for third place among major metropolitan areas for growth of tech-intensive jobs. According to CNBC, "Last year, there were 4,000 jobs needed in Washington for those with computer science degrees, but only 500 university-credentialed candidates." Locally, our educational institutions are working together to fill industry demands.  

Washington State University (WSU), who opened doors to its new facility on the Everett Community College (EvCC) campus this fall, has launched new software engineering and data analytics programs in Everett.  

"Both of these are great opportunities for students to prepare for some of the most in-demand jobs in the state of Washington." said Everett Community College's Engineering & Computer Science Department Chair Joe Graber. 

"The software engineering program is very similar to computer science programs at other universities, but WSU also teaches project management, teamwork, and organizational skills to help students prepare of jobs as software engineers." 

The introduction of these programs at WSU Everett means that the computer science department at EvCC is growing steadily. Graber estimates a 20% year to year growth. EvCC offers both C++ and Java tracks and has a relatively large offering of computer science classes for a community college. 

For currently employed and newly hired software engineers and data professionals, EvCC's Corporate & Continuing Education Center offers software testing, quality assurance, data management, Cloud, and programming training. Classes are available at CCEC's locations in Everett, Bothell, Kirkland, or online.

"We just revised our business intelligence certificate program to make it fully online," said EvCC Executive Director of Contract Training Ray Kubista. "Our goal is to make training options as convenient as possible for working professionals."

Kubista notes that professionals in technology fields are also able to take classes to help them better their management skills that might be necessary for them to take the next step up in their company. And businesses can even schedule customized training through the college.

"We are fortunate enough to have educational options that meet a number of needs in our communities - whether it is degree programs preparing students to start a new job or transfer to a four year institution, or for more experienced employees to get advanced training." said Kubista. "There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of high quality training to meet the growing needs of the technology industry around us."

This article was featured in CCEC's November newsletter. Click here to subscribe.