Amazon, Bay Area Colleges Join To Offer Cloud Computing Education

BAY AREA, CA — Amazon Web Services and a group of Bay Area community colleges — along with their K12 and California State University partners — came together Tuesday to officially launch a regional consortium aimed at preparing students for jobs in cloud computing.

The regional consortium will launch a Cloud Computing Certificate, much like one being offered in the greater Los Angeles area. As part of the Bay Area effort, Amazon Web Services joined forces with:

• City College of San Francisco
• Canada College
• De Anza College
• Evergreen Valley College
• Foothill College
• Las Positas College
• College of San Mateo
• Mission College
• SIATech High Schools

"Preparing students for livable, 21st century jobs in growing industries is one of our many important goals as a community college," said Dr. Mark Rocha, Chancellor at City College of San Francisco. "By starting with one of the most well-known cloud technologies and collaborating with local educational partners, we can give students the head start they need to enter this high-paying field."

In addition to the tools that facilitate curriculum development, the consortium will also provide students with access to some of the Bay Area's largest employers. By expanding the program's framework to include high school students and four-year colleges over the next two years, the goal is to develop a diverse pipeline of students for tech jobs and address the region's workforce challenges.

Amazon launched a collaboration with the Los Angeles Community College District several years ago through its AWS Educate program. Through the collaboration, a consortium of 19 LA County community colleges and their sister high schools offer a Cloud Computing Certificate. The CA Cloud: Los Angeles program was designed collaboratively by faculty at Los Angeles community colleges and AWS Educate, with the support of subject matter experts from AWS and other LA-based tech companies to equip students with cloud skills needed for careers in the tech industry.

As part of the LA initiative, each community college is working with at least one high school in the greater Los Angeles area, including those in economically disadvantaged communities, offering concurrent enrollment in the 15-credit certificate program and other support, such as professional development opportunities like curriculum development workshops and AWS trainings.

The consortium is supported by California's Strong Workforce Program, a $200M+ annual investment by the state of California to develop a modern workforce.

"With this expansion of AWS Educate's Cloud Degree program in California, we look forward to providing Bay Area students with an on-ramp into the cloud economy," said Ken Eisner, director, Worldwide Education Programs, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "We're particularly excited about the reach of this consortium into underserved communities across Silicon Valley and into the cities, to help students prepare for opportunities at some of the most innovative and entrepreneurial companies in the world. We commend Bay Area consortium members for building on the foundational work of the California Cloud Workforce Project in Los Angeles and for extending opportunities to students across the state of California."