Amazon is partnering with Utah to train the state’s educators to teach a curriculum developed by the tech giant to prepare students for jobs in the cloud.
The effort aims to provide cloud-computing courses and related resources to some 5,000 Utah students by June 2022, Gov. Gary Herbert said in a media teleconference Thursday from the Utah Capitol.
The state’s Talent Ready Utah training program will coordinate the effort with Amazon Web Services’ AWS Academy, which works with colleges and universities to help students learn skills and earn credentials offered by the company.
Educators at Utah’s participating institutions will be provided a limited number of credential exams at no cost, and will also receive discounts for additional tests. The usual fees for AWS certification exams run from $100 to $300, depending on the level, according to the AWS website.
Once teachers are trained, students can enroll in their classes to learn the Academy curriculum. According to the AWS website, there is typically a fee for students to take training courses; the costs for Utah’s future Academy students were not immediately available from state officials.
Students who then take the tests for Amazon credentials also will get discounts on the exam fees, the state said in a news release. State officials did not offer immediate details on the amount of the discounts for Utah teachers and students.
Dixie State University in St. George has been teaching the AWS curriculum for two years, said Jon Francom, professor of computer science at DSU. “We knew we had to jump on that train, and help our children be successful and join the work force,” Francom said.
Students at Dixie State receive credit for taking the AWS training as a college course, a DSU spokeswoman said. It’s also offered as a continuing-education course, though not for college credit. Tuition varies, depending on whether it’s a regular college course or continuing-education class.
Herbert said Utah will be the first state to provide the AWS Academy program statewide through its schools, and is the first state AWS is partnering with in this way. AWS also will offer learning resources to high schools, through its AWS Educate program.
John Stephenson, director of U.S. public policy for AWS, said the AWS Academy curriculum, for teachers and students, will be available at all levels of higher education — career and technical high schools, technical college, community college or university.
Herbert said that Utah has “the most advanced skilled labor force not only in the country but in the world,” and the AWS training “will enhance what we’re already doing.”
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3ikSEUt
August 07, 2020 at 05:27AM
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