Beyond the Card: Closing Detroit’s IT Skills Gap {Podcast}
bcbsm
| 2 min read
Metro Detroit has quickly become the place to be for aspiring information technology professionals. “You have a technology industry in Metro Detroit that is the equal to all of Silicon Valley in terms of jobs, number of employers and the number of occupations identified,” said Patrick Anderson, principal at Anderson Economic Group, in an interview with the Detroit News. Despite the vast amount of opportunity, Detroit faces a critical IT skills gap. A recent report found that there were nearly six times more job openings than IT degrees or certificates handed out from local educational institutions. The result? Demand for IT talent far outpaces the supply. On this episode of the MIBluesPerspectives.com podcast, host Sven Gustafson goes behind the scenes of Experience IT, a collaboration between leading technology companies to bridge the talent gap in Detroit by offering free training to aspiring IT professionals. Guests include:
- Ryan Hoyle, vice president of talent and business development GalaxE.Solutions Inc. and one of the founders of Experience IT
- Mike Benoit, director of digital services and enterprise project management at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and an Experience IT volunteer
- Chandra Floyd, a former event planner who made the leap to QA Analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan after participating in Experience IT
Learn more about Experience IT at experienceitdetroit.com. Learn more about IT at Blue Cross at mibluetech.com. This post is part of a storytelling series we call, “Beyond the Card.” These stories will feature Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan members, employees, and communities who are making meaningful differences throughout our state. We invite you to follow Beyond the Card stories here at MIBluesPerspectives.com and through the hashtag, #BeyondtheCard on our social channels. If you have a story you would like to share, please feel free to contact us at stories@bcbsm.com. Photo: Barbara Eckstein
