The Rapid IT Training and Employment Initiative (RITEI) Action Guide

Beyond Access and Affordability: Insights from Piloting a Virtual A+ Training Model

The digitization of business, the large-scale adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) tools, and the rise of remote work during the early years of the pandemic led to a steady increase in demand for IT workers over the last ten years (Deloitte). While much of this growth was concentrated in IT occupations that require a four-year degree, such as programmers and developers, entry-level roles, including IT support, also expanded rapidly. From 2010 through 2023, Computer User Support Specialist jobs grew 52% and Computer Network Specialists grew 11%, highlighting opportunity to expand on-ramps to these roles (Lightcast. Data extracted by JFF, 2020-2024).

To address this demand, JFF established the Rapid IT Training and Employment Initiative (RITEI), a model that brought high-quality, short-term training to scale in 2021, backed by an H-1B One Workforce grant. This grant brought together JFF’s experience leading innovative digital jobs programs and pathways with industry leader CompTIA as the primary training provider. In addition, the National Association of Workforce Boards and the AFL-CIO’s Working for America Institute partnered with JFF to connect to local workforce boards and state and local organized labor, respectively.

By integrating industry-aligned virtual credentials, including the Google IT Support Professional Certificate and the CompTIA A+ Certification with local supportive services in four communities, JFF aimed to expand on-ramps to IT roles for underemployed and unemployed workers and provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities for incumbent workers to advance. The initiative was built on JFF’s vision of making high-value tech training—like boot camps accessible to more jobseekers by removing barriers of location and cost.

The RITEI Action Guide examines the intention, process, outcomes, and lessons learned by implementing RITEI training program for entry-level IT roles over the last four years. It highlights the lessons learned from this initiative and recommendations to improve future iterations of IT-career on-ramp training programs. Read the full Action Guide to gain insights into how practitioners can strengthen IT programs and sign up to stay up to date on future thought leadership from JFF focused on digital jobs.

Understanding the RITEI Model

The RITEI model “stacked” the Google IT Support Professional Certificate with the CompTIA A+ Certification to ensure that learners had foundational knowledge in IT before embarking on the more rigorous A+ training. A+ has been the most sought-after qualification for entry-level IT jobs since 2020. Training was delivered virtually to make it accessible to more learners. Four high-impact implementation sites, Colorado Community College System (Denver), JEVS Human Services (Philadelphia), Metropolitan Community College (Omaha), and TechSF (San Francisco) piloted the RITEI model to address the urgent need for entry-level IT talent in communities facing barriers to accessing IT career on-ramps and implement the RITEI model, including participant recruitment, assessment, training and career supports, wraparound services, and connections to IT-related employment.

Outcomes and Insights

While the implementation partners enrolled over 1,000 jobseekers into training programs, training completion and post-training employment rates remained low. These outcomes indicated that to increase access to early-career IT support roles, programs must offer substantive supportive services, hands-on learning opportunities, and make connections with committed employers who can both advise program design and support employment outcomes.

Though nearly half of all RITEI learners entered the program with a postsecondary degree and 65% had at least six years of work experience, the IT support experience gap between their resumes and employer expectations remained when learners began looking for IT-related employment after training completion. Work-based learning opportunities, though a part of the RITEI model, were challenging to get off the ground due to local market shifts and changing employer needs. This left RITEI learners without the experience and expanded professional networks they needed to more readily obtain the IT support jobs they were seeking.

Despite difficulty in connecting RITEI learners to employment, when surveyed, many learners indicated they still felt hopeful about their job prospects after completing RITEI training. This reinforces that programs like RITEI can provide the support IT jobseekers need to make meaningful progress toward their career goals.

Recommendations

Creating more effective pathways for unemployed and underemployed jobseekers from virtual IT training through regular employment requires an approach that deploys multiple coordinated interventions throughout the learner journey. Future virtual IT Training to employment programs should offer enhanced intake assessments, learner supports including financial compensation, work-based learning opportunities throughout the programs and employer engagement beginning at the program development stage.

JFF makes the following recommendations for those seeking to expand on-ramps to IT support roles for more jobseekers:

Conclusion

Broadening pathways into IT careers requires a blend of skill development and hands-on experience to adequately prepare learners for the workforce. Programs must fully assess learner readiness and commitment and deploy adequate wraparound supports and job-readiness strategies, such as lab time and work-based learning opportunities. Programs can ensure increased learner success in finding quality jobs by fostering strong employer partnerships early in the planning process. Evolving the RITEI model by incorporating these recommendations will improve access to IT careers for a more diverse group of job seekers.