Salesforce and OpenClassrooms Announce Global Training Program

An evolving, technology-driven job market needs evolving, technology-driven models of training and recruitment.

And yet, as job growth in tech-related fields has boomed, there is an alarming global shortage of skilled, available workers to fill those new jobs.

A recent study showed that among 600 global firms doing more than $1 billion in revenue each year, 93 percent feel that an IT skills gap is holding them back from growth and transformation.

The old models of educating, recruiting, and hiring skilled workers must be revolutionized. More computer science graduates won’t close this skills gap. We have to think differently.

Companies must be a part of creating inclusive talent pipelines that reach candidates of all backgrounds. There is an opportunity for new models of cooperation between companies and online education platforms to improve education and access to employment, across the larger tech ecosystem.

Today, I’m very excited to announce that OpenClassrooms is forging this kind of partnership with Salesforce.

We are joining forces to introduce a new education paradigm, one where employers and educators are constantly working together to shape students’ experiences and provide employment pathways.

In this new program we aim to recruit, train, and place 1,000 people in these kinds of jobs by 2021. Through a nine-month set of courses, they will be prepared to enter high skill jobs in cloud computing.

Salesforce’s flexible engineering teams that work on in-the-moment problems will inform the entire education process, placing students in a series of real world scenarios where they learn to apply their new skills. Passionate students will be recruited from all over the world using OpenClassrooms’ networks and platforms.

At the end of the education period, students will graduate with a diploma recognized by the French state and certified by Salesforce. OpenClassrooms will provide career coaching services to help them enter in-demand technology roles within the ecosystem of Salesforce customers and partners, including Capgemini and Accenture. If by six months they are not placed in a job, we will credit their tuition fees.

Partnerships like this one – that are truly global and draw from outside normal recruitment channels – may well be the solution to bringing today’s talent apace with how technology is changing the economy. I am hopeful that OpenClassrooms will be a leader in proving out these solutions.

– Pierre Dubuc, CEO OpenClassrooms

Want to know more about the program details?