Technologist Talk

Why are military veterans excellent candidates for jobs as IT support specialists? Is it the technical training they receive during service? Is it the work ethic they acquire during service? Or is it both? Listen as Stephen Padilla, an instructor for CompTIA Tech Career Academy’s IT-Ready Technical Support program – and a U.S. Air Force veteran – shares answers to those questions, because he’s lived them.

As pandemic distancing protocols push many of our business interactions into the virtual realm, we face an inconvenient truth: We just can’t replicate what we do in person, online. Or, can we? Listen as Ben Rohling, who leads development for CompTIA Tech Career Academy’s IT support specialist training curriculum, shares how he and his fellow instructors discovered that, in some ways, pivoting to virtual classrooms didn’t make training harder, it made it better. 

How can our nation’s public workforce system help narrow the tech skills gap in the U.S. job market? By removing barriers to learning new IT skills for displaced and disadvantaged workers. And with program support from CompTIA Custom Training. Listen as executives from workforce development agency C2 Global explain how they work with CompTIA to re-skill and up-skill workers in Texas and Florida.

Which is the one most critical success factor for landing – and keeping – a tech job? Technical training from CompTIA Tech? CompTIA certifications? Or, experience in customer service? The answer to this trick question may surprise you. Listen as Priyanka Neupane, a senior IT supervisor for international medical technology maker Medtronic, tells the tale of how she discovered the right answer for her tech career. 

Despite the pandemic, employers across all sectors of the U.S. economy continue to hire workers for tech jobs. That’s according to a recent analysis by CompTIA’s research team. But does this positive trend mean you, or someone you know, should consider launching a tech career during trying times? Listen to Adam Turner and Ben Rohling of CompTIA Tech Career Academy explain why the answer to that question is “Yes.”

How can IT Help Desk technicians narrow the distance between colleagues created by pandemic precautions? By understanding that IT support is about humans, not hardware. Listen as Priyanka Neupane, a senior IT supervisor for medical technology maker Medtronic, describes how she recruits, hires and trains specialists for the company’s U.S. IT support center from CompTIA Tech’s IT-Ready program. 

Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the end of this decade employment in tech occupations is projected to grow much faster than the average for all other occupations. But how can our nation’s workforce rise to meet this demand when a tech skills gap already leaves about half a million positions working with technology unfilled at any given time? And, as our economy works to recover from pandemic conditions? Listen as Randi Parker, senior director at Creating IT Futures, shares advice for concerned technologists.

How does a workforce board help hundreds of thousands of people find jobs in the wake of a pandemic? One way is providing on-demand virtual IT training, with support from CompTIA Custom Training. Listen as Dr. Mardy Leathers, director of Missouri’s Office of Workforce Development, holds an audio “show & tell” session, explaining how his team helps workers develop digital skills that will last a lifetime.

Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange