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NuPaths LLC, a for-profit company co-founded by Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, aims to provide IT certifications to high school graduates and people changing careers.
The company‘s programs can be completed in three to six month and are designed to polish students‘ skills in areas such as help-desk support, software testing and IT security.
It‘s different than a degree program. We‘re focused on very specific IT job roles, said Andy Petroski, a company co-founder and senior new product development consultant at the university.
For students who lack the time or don‘t have tens of thousands of dollars for a four-year degree program, NuPaths offers a quicker, lower-cost option. It is slated to cost about $5,000 per student when it opens up enrollment this summer for the fall semester.
For employers, NuPaths offers a potential source of entry-level workers in a tight labor market.
The need for people to fill tech-related jobs is expected to grow nationally as companies put greater emphasis on cloud computing, data storage and information security. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects job growth of 13 percent job, or about 557,0 new IT jobs, between 2016 and 2026.
Some of those IT jobs will be created in Central Pennsylvania at companies like Capital BlueCross in Susquehanna Township.
We are in constant need of quality employees in all aspects of information technology, said Scott Frank, the health insurer‘s chief information officer. NuPaths gives us a perfect channel to find qualified candidates for employment who understand the fundamentals and can be further trained by us, if necessary.
NuPaths also could serve as a staff development...