Highly Successful Coding & Technology Bootcamp Curriculum Can Help Address Needs from Skills Gaps to Unemployment

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 600 students have graduated from CNM Ingenuity's suite of award-winning Deep Dive Coding and Technology Bootcamps and 87 percent achieved their professional goals within six months. After the immersive 10-week programs, the average starting salary for a Deep Dive grad in New Mexico is nearly $50,000, and Deep Dive graduates have gone on to earn $82 million in total wages over the past seven years.  

To help other community colleges and organizations across the country offer similar opportunities, CNM Ingenuity, the enterprise arm of Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), is now licensing the curriculum for its entire suite of technology bootcamps and offering in-depth support to ensure success. The Deep Dive Bootcamps include Fullstack Web Development, Data Science, Java + Android App Development, Internet of Things, and Digital Media.

"Our vision is 'Changing Lives, Building Community,' and we want to empower other organizations to have the same impact," says Mary Gallivan, the Senior Director of Program Management at CNM Ingenuity (CNMI).

In 2019, Albuquerque Economic Development named Deep Dive Coding as its winner of the Excellence in Workforce Development Award. The Air Force Research Lab New Mexico selected Deep Dive Coding as its 2020 Higher Ed Program of the Year for its New Mexico Excellence in STEM Awards.

Gallivan says it can cost upwards of $250,000 to develop and implement just one bootcamp, so a licensing program is much more affordable and quicker to implement. Right now, a program created by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions is offering $80,000 start-up grants to any New Mexico-based post-secondary institution that wants to license the Deep Dive Bootcamps. But the licensing option is available to colleges and organizations across the country.

In addition to proven and high-quality curriculum, the CNMI licensing program provides a host of additional tools. If an institution needs to hire instructors, CNMI provides everything from sample job descriptions to instructors on loan. Once instructors are in place, CNMI provides "train-the-trainer" workshops for new instructors and support staff so they can learn best practices. Finally, CNMI will also offer instructor mentorship during the first cohort. 

The first college to join in is Doña Ana Community College in Las Cruces, NM, and it will be offering the Fullstack Web Development bootcamp in the fall.

"For Doña Ana Community College's Workforce Development Department, licensing the CNMI Deep Dive Fullstack program and curriculum has been a great opportunity to develop our own bootcamp here in the southern part of the state," says Mary Ulrich, the Director for the Department of Workforce Development & Career Readiness at DACC. "We have really benefited from the wealth of experience that CNMI Deep Dive staff and instructors have shared with us through the onboarding and train-the-trainer process. As we plan our first cohort in October, the staff and instructors continue to offer support and guidance for a successful launch and implementation."

The timing of the licensing program could not be better. The pandemic has shown that tech jobs are flexible and resilient, and the 10-week bootcamps are a quick, affordable, and efficient way to focus the workforce on job-ready career skills while maximizing return on time and money invested.

"Bootcamps are a great way to help employers find high-quality employees, and a great way to change the entire trajectory of a person's life," says Andrea Sisneros-Wichman, the Program Director for Deep Dive at CNMI. 

In addition to Doña Ana Community College, there's already interest in the licensing program from colleges across the country. And because CNMI is licensing the curriculum for every bootcamp offering, the college expects the program to grow exponentially. 

"If you're a school or a community organization looking to address anything from the skills gap to unemployment, we can help jumpstart you on that path," Gallivan says. "You'll get to leverage all of our experience and tools, and we'll teach you how to be successful."

SOURCE Central New Mexico Community College (CNM)

Related Links

http://www.cnm.edu