New Mini-Documentary Highlights How the World's Largest Tech Industry Association is Working to Close the Skills and Diversity Gap in IT Jobs

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This is a MUST SEE documentary for anyone with an aptitude for technology searching for a viable and rewarding career path.

"Cracking the Code" is a new mini-documentary from WorkingNation that follows Greg Bartell as he transitioned from a dead-end job in retail to a sustainable career in IT thanks to enrollment in the Creating IT Futures "IT-Ready" program from CompTIA, the world's leading tech association.

The documentary was produced by WorkingNation, a national non-profit campaign working to expose hard truths about a looming unemployment crisis in the United States and bring the country together to create and amplify solutions.

The video is available to view here.

In the 4-minute documentary, we learn how Bartell found the free training and job experience through IT-Ready that allowed him to break into the expanding IT field. Today, he is a network operations team lead for Atomic Data.

"When I heard that I was going to be accepted into the program, it was a really awesome moment," Bartell says in the video. "I felt like I had won the lottery. It was the first time that I felt like I was going to be in a career that I could thrive in in my entire life."

WorkingNation's filmmaking crew documented Bartell's training in the Creating IT Futures program – part of the philanthropic arm of CompTIA – and explored how initiatives like it are so important to closing the skills gap and diversifying the talent pool in IT.

In the past year alone, more than 2.8 million IT jobs and 375,000 cyber security jobs were posted online in the United States. In order to meet current market demands, the cyber security workforce would have to double overnight, and the number of job openings is expected to triple over the next five years.

"There is a major skills gap problem that's been identified in IT and it feels like we're going to walk off a cliff if we don't find a way to fill these roles," said Adam Turner, senior director of training program operations for CompTIA. "By bringing in folks that are underrepresented, we can fill that gap by providing them the skills and training for a sustainable career path."

The 4-minute video is part of WorkingNation's "Do Something Awesome" series, consisting of heartfelt, human mini-docs that shine a light on programs across the country working to prepare Americans for jobs of the future.

Each episode in the "Do Something Awesome" series highlights a different scalable program that is working to create a more sustainable workforce in a rapidly changing U.S. economy.

Collectively, the episodes illuminate a broader and often difficult to understand narrative facing the United States – that the world of work is changing faster than we ever could have predicted, and we are not ready.

By highlighting these corporations, not-for-profits and individuals, WorkingNation is providing a wide audience with information on emerging careers, pathways to steady jobs, and successful programs that other organizations can adapt for their respective communities, across multiple industries.

Watch every episode of the "Do Something Awesome" series at WorkingNation.com.

ABOUT WORKINGNATION

Founded by philanthropist and venture capitalist Art Bilger, WorkingNation exists to expose hard truths about the looming unemployment crisis and bring the country together to create new jobs for a changing economy. Bilger serves as CEO of WorkingNation and has assembled a team of talented journalists and media and non-profit executives to carry out the mission. WorkingNation's efforts include a series of original programming from award winning directors and producers as well as other forms of interactive multimedia outreach to everyday Americans.

For more information, visit WorkingNation.com.

ABOUT COMPTIA'S CREATING IT FUTURES

Creating IT Futures is the tech workforce charity of CompTIA, a non-profit trade organization representing the interests of IT professionals and companies. To learn more about IT-Ready or Creating IT Futures, visit www.creatingitfutures.org.

Contacts:

Erik Borg
Working Nation 
212.584.7829
[email protected] 

Lisa Fasold
Creating IT Futures 
630.678.8558
[email protected]

SOURCE Creating IT Futures

Related Links

http://www.creatingitfutures.org