Alliance Uses Cohort Model to Offer Job Seekers Training, Support and Placement
SOUTH BOSTON, VIRGINIA – August 10, 2021 – SOVA Innovation Hub, Microsoft and gener8tor announce gener8tor Upskilling Southern Virginia’s next free fully virtual training program to help Southern Virginia residents get critical digital skills for in-demand jobs. Program registration is open now and closes on August 23.
gener8tor Upskilling Southern Virginia is open to all Southern Virginia residents seeking to develop new skills in project management.
This six-week, cohort-based program will include:
- Self-paced virtual curriculum from Microsoft and LinkedIn to learn skills for in-demand Project Management roles while earning certifications and badges;
- One-on-one concierge support from the gener8tor team on the skills content, plus career coaching on resume and cover letter writing, LinkedIn profile creation and interviewing;
- Virtual access to a network of peers for support and community;
- Access to SOVA Innovation Hub’s coworking space and community network during the program;
- And opportunities to interview with companies ready to hire candidates with these skills.
At the end of the six-week program, participants will have the ability to leverage access to gener8tor’s national portfolio of companies hiring for remote roles, local hiring companies and Microsoft’s Career Connector. Microsoft’s Career Connector is a new service that will help place 50,000 job seekers skilled by Microsoft’s nonprofit and learning partners in tech-enabled jobs in the Microsoft ecosystem in the next three years. Career Connector will have a specific focus on women and underrepresented minorities in technology.
“The pandemic has forced us to look at the widening digital divide in our community. Through Microsoft TechSpark, we are committed to helping people gain the skills they need in order to move into available jobs within the digital era,” said Jeremy Satterfield, Manager of TechSpark Southern Virginia at Microsoft.
“gener8tor is focused on helping communities invest in themselves in projects just like this,” said Joe Kirgues, Co-founder and Partner at gener8tor. “We are excited to continue our partnership with SoVA Innovation Hub and Microsoft to help people learn new digital skills and get the experience they need to succeed in jobs with local and national employers.”
“We are really excited to begin the third cohort of the gener8tor Upskilling program. Project management is a skillset essential to every business. We hope this training will be really helpful to people who want to move up within their current job, or who want to find a remote work opportunity using these new skills,” said Lauren Mathena, Director of Economic Development & Community Engagement at Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, who supports program development for the SOVA Innovation Hub.
For more information on how to participate, visit gener8torupskilling.com/southern-virginia.
About gener8tor
gener8tor’s turnkey platform for the creative economy connects startup founders, investors, corporations, universities, job seekers, musicians and artists. The gener8tor platform includes accelerators, upskilling, corporate programming, and conferences with content on community growth, impact investing, diversity, equity and inclusion, and innovation across education, agriculture, insurance, healthcare, and more. Recently, gener8tor was named one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators.
About SOVA Innovation Hub
The SOVA Innovation Hub is a non-profit organization created to spark economic transformation in Southern Virginia. We bring together business and education partners to offer innovative programs that inspire people to pursue digital careers and entrepreneurship. Our state-of-the-art facility in South Boston, Virginia includes a coworking space, a training space, and the Microsoft Experience Center.