Workforce Development Programs at Community Colleges: Skills-based Courses in Software-related Careers
Offer skills-based training in high demand tech fields through a partnership with Qwasar Silicon Valley.
Increase career success and job readiness
Create career on-ramps into the tech industry by partnering with Qwasar Silicon Valley for easy-to-implement courses that are 100% skills-based. Our programs are affordable, very hands-on, and scalable which allows for training in specific software fields at Silicon Valley Standards.
We use existing faculty members without increasing burdens on them to provide high-quality, low-cost training certificate programs for your students and local population to help them get into high-paying tech jobs.
Job Readiness Beyond Our Curriculum
There are 4 major areas of how we set students up for success in the hiring market and create attractive potential candidates:
Strong Technical Portfolio
Learners develop a technical portfolio that has depth and shows the extent of their technical skills and ability to handle databases, deployments, and development.
Breadth and depth of technical skills
We cover both and your strong back-end skills and experience with databases, data structures, and algorithms will set you apart from other candidates.
Technical Interview Preparation
Learners undergo 40+ technical interviews as both the interviewee and the interviewer. Through practice, they become more confident and more competent at technical interviews.
Software Development Experience
In completing various, end-to-end software projects, learners gain experience in software development, namely the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
How We Work Together
Faculty are the program leads, so they will run the programs. We provide support and training for your faculty member(s).
You can have a higher ratio of students to faculty, meaning faculty increase their income without increasing their workload.
You can use full-time or part-time faculty members.
In collaboration with Community College staff, we can jointly make significant improvements in the educational attainment of adults.
Why Us
We align with community college goals:
- We help you foster career growth and real on-ramps
- We help you serve low-income populations and focus on increasing diversity in tech
- We provide true career education with strong job placement rates
- Our learning methods are engaging and work for a variety of learners
- We develop 21st-century skills in learners
- Together, we provide a dual certificate from both you and Qwasar
- Our learning methods and skills-based model helps significantly to close achievement gaps and get learners into well-paying tech jobs
Learners essentially practice the workplace before they get a job, meaning they are job-ready.
An Interview with Dr. Damany Fisher, Regional Director of Special Projects for the Bay Area Community College Consortium
Dr. Damany Fisher shares his passion for helping students of all backgrounds with accessible education and equal employment opportunities. His job is focused on ensuring that community colleges are teaching the skills that employers need. Damany mentions that his goal, along with the Bay Area Community College Consortium, is to help students learn the right skills that are in line with industry needs and industry standards, and that these skills lead to jobs that pay livable wages.
“For me, it was a no-brainer for this partnership to take place. I recognized early on the potential benefits of working with Qwasar and combining the resources of the community college with the instructional model and pedagogy of Qwasar.”
“Qwasar and Cañada College at Menlo Park are offering a nine-month training program for software developers, with help from grant funding to achieve a low enough price point to draw applicants from low-income communities.”
GovTech Article
Our partnership with Cañada Community College was recently published in a GovTech article on higher education. This program is the first of its kind at an affordable price point for community colleges. The 9-month training program begins August 23rd, 2021 and runs through May 20th, 2022.
Competency-based Learning Models in Higher Education: A Case Study at Cañada College at Menlo Park
A case study on Full Stack Developer Program in partnership with Cañada Community College at Menlo Park and how competency-based learning is effective. The goals of this partnership are to meet local talent demand, serve the local population, and provide essential career on-ramps, all while using competency-based education. This partnership is a unique opportunity for community college students in the San Francisco Bay Area to get into tech through an affordable, skills-based pathway.
“From the conceptual design of the curriculum and program to the transparency in regards to student learning, the program is designed to develop competencies and enable students to progress based on competency.”
Option 1: For-credit
This program can be done as a for-credit program that counts towards students completion of an academic degree. This can be discussed with administration to determine credit bearing criteria and evaluation.
Option 2: Not-for-credit
This program can be done as a not-for-credit program that does not count towards completion of an academic degree. Students will receive a certificate from Qwasar Silicon Valley upon program completion.
Community Colleges We Work With
