AlbanyCanCode is committed to aiding our Veterans by providing access to quality training to those wishing to start a new career in the tech sector. We offer a range of classes at differing levels, taught by industry professionals. Local employers visit classes to serve as mentors, and provide valuable networking opportunities. Our staff provides career counseling, resume review, and guidance for those who are ready to begin their job searches.
AlbanyCanCode offers courses in Front End Web Development, JavaScript Fundamentals and Frameworks, Python for Data Analytics, Salesforce Applications, SQL/ETL, and Automated Web Testing. Each class is twelve-‐weeks long, and meets two evenings a week for three hours. Instructors may also offer lab or extra help sessions. In addition to working with our instructors, our program managers get to know each student and offer additional support to ensure that our students are successful in our programs. Our program managers also evaluate students’ strengths and weaknesses to guide them toward appropriate career paths in technology. Some of our students will go on to become developers, while others will be successful as scrum masters, data analysts, or quality assurance specialists.
In 2019, a generous grant of $25,000 from SEFCU allowed us to provide more targeted support to veterans in our classes. This fund allows us to provide full scholarships, as well as support funds for transportation, childcare, or additional program assistance. Our goal is to remove barriers we can that would prevent a student from completing course. We have already been able to provide support and scholarships to six students in our spring and fall 2019 cohorts, and hope to be able to work with more veterans in the spring of 2020.
In the last year we have begun to track data on our students as a way of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our programming. One of the veterans who received one of our scholarships for our JavaScript Frameworks class in the Spring of 2019 has since started a new job and come back to teach our Front End Web Development class. Another is back at work for the first time in eight years on disability, interning with a prominent company using the data science skills he learned at AlbanyCanCode. We look forward to seeing the three veterans we currently have in class succeed in their career goals and come back to support future cohorts of students.
Check out this great media coverage on the Veterans Scholarship:
AlbanyCanCode Opens Path to Veteran’s New Career via The Times Union
Albany Veterans Learning How to Code Thanks to Grants via Spectrum News
Contact us at info@albanycancode.org if you would like more information on this program.