Full Stack Pre-apprenticeship
What is a Full Stack Pre-apprenticeship?
The Department of Labor defines a Pre-apprenticeship as a program designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in an apprenticeship program. Programs focus on developing skills and on learning-by-doing over lectures and tests.
Our pre-apprenticeship or pre-internship program in full stack development trains learners in the fundamentals of software engineering and computer science with a specialization in full stack development. We use a learning-by-doing approach and programs mirror on-the-job requirements.
Pre-apprenticeship or pre-internship programs can be used to funnel talent into your apprenticeships, internships, or entry-level jobs.
Why Run a Pre-apprenticeship?
What you will be doing throughout the program.
Build A Diverse Pipeline
Pre-apprenticeships are a great way to gain diverse talent through an accessible program that allows all learners to gain high quality technical education. It is imperative that training opportunities break down barriers to entry and enable more diverse and qualified candidates the opportunity to succeed at your organization.
Decrease Costs
Lower costs of recruiting and sourcing qualified talent. Find interested and invested candidates without a skills gap and provide them with a career on-ramp.
Get Talent with the Specific Skills You Need
Not all technical skills are equal. Qwasar pre-apprenticeship programs are customizable to your specific needs. Work with our Learning Engineers to create a pipeline of talent with specific skills, such as React.JS + AWS Amplify deployment, or Ruby + RoR + SQL.
Consistency and Cadence of Hiring
Generate a pipeline of talent when you need it over the entire year. Plan cohort start dates around your key hiring times and meet growth requirements.
Improve Productivity and create an overall more profitable workforce
Utilizing and training workers who are dedicated and committed to your company and already have the skills needed to be successful. Engineering managers spend less time training and instructing apprentices and therefore more time completing projects and tasks.
Minimize Liability Costs and Uncertainty
Skills-based training and hiring decreases uncertainty in your candidates. Have confidence your pipeline is up to scratch and able to start contributing on Day 1 to your engineering organization and teams. There is little room for error or liability with this direct route.
Did you know?
“Currently, women comprise only 6 percent of apprentices, although they make up 47 percent of the U.S. labor force. Pre-apprenticeship programs can increase opportunities for better-paying jobs for women.” Source
How Pre-apprenticeships Feed Your Talent Pipelines
Coding bootcamps often aren’t rigorous enough in their training and their curriculum skips vital fundamentals in software engineering, such that many graduates don’t make it into apprenticeships, internships, or entry-level jobs. There can be a mis-alignment of needed skills too.
Our pre-apprenticeships can feed your talent pipelines and provide a key opportunity for potential candidates to train in the specific skill set you need.
How a Full Stack Pre-apprenticeship Program Works
The specific languages and skills acquired during the technical training period are customizable depending on the most pertinent need at your company. Here’s how pre-apprenticeship programs generally work with Qwasar:
Costs
Pre-apprentices or your company pay $2,400 for the program. Payments can be made monthly or upfront.
Location
Training is entirely remote and online. Learners complete the training on their own devices from home.
Cohorts
Cohorts can be part-time, full-time, or part-time Saturdays. Start dates are set based on your hiring needs and cycles.
Responsibilities
Pre-apprenticeships are a collaboration between us and your company.
What You Do
- Provide software engineers or engineering managers to “virtually visit campus” to present to learners
- Provide insight into how the recruitment process works (already successfully done)
- Present to learners in a ‘virtual campus visit’ when positions are open (already successfully done)
- Announce the pre-apprenticeship program publicly, promote on social
- Commit to reviewing and talking with every pre-apprentice candidate
- Provide ongoing input on desired skills in apprenticeship applicants
- Communicate the program to your rejected job applicants who are of interest to your company
What We Do
- Advertise and recruit learners
- Manage, train, and prepare learners to apply for your apprenticeships, internships, or entry-level jobs
- Develop a refined training track if necessary to train in specific skills required for your positions
- Announce the co-branded program
- Apply for funding from organizations, associations, etc. interested in fueling pre-apprenticeships, particularly in California
Recruiting Talent
Talent is available for recruitment almost year-round, depending on when cohorts start.
Pre-apprentices who are ready to be considered as candidates will be sent over to your recruiters.
Candidates can follow your recruiting process, completing technical interviews, technical challenges, other interviews, etc.
Qwasar will work with any candidates you do not accept to assist them in finding jobs elsewhere or via other Qwasar employer partners.
Full Stack Pre-apprenticeship Program Curriculum
Introduction
Computer Science Fundamentals
Full Stack
Specialization
Hard Skills
- Variables
- Functions
- Loop statements
- If statements
- Basic algorithms
- Data structures
- Using an IGE
- Navigating using the terminal
- Javascript
- HTML/CSS
- Basic software architecture
Hard Skills
- Basics of C
- Back-end programming
- Pointers
- Arrays
- Strings
- Intermediate algorithms
- Data structures
- Data types
- Software architecture
- Basic memory management
Hard Skills
- Ruby
- Ruby on Rails
- Node.js
- Javascript
- HTML/CSS
- Nginx
- PostgreSQL
- SQLite
- PhP
- jQuery
- REST APIs
Hard Skills
- Ruby or Python
- React.JS
- Java, Spring, UML
- AWS/GCP/Azure
Soft Skills
- Time management
- Self-management
- Inference
- Abstraction
- Programming logic
- Determination
- Debugging
Soft Skills
- Structured problem solving
- Communication
- Rigor
- Discipline
- Identifying your assumptions
- Detailed debugging
- Pair programming
Soft Skills
- Creativity
- Structured problem solving
- Game logic
- Advanced software architecture
- Database design and development
Soft Skills
- Technical interviews
- Behavioral interviews
- Public speaking
- Professional presentation
- Resume and LinkedIn profile
Looking for a specific language or tool that’s not here? Not a problem. Contact us to discuss options.
Looking for backend engineering, AI/ML, or DevOps skill sets? Check out our apprenticeships.
Full Stack Pre-apprenticeship Timeline
Qwasar’s Full Stack Development program generally takes 6-9 months to complete in total. Here’s an overview of how long it takes for us to recruit learners, conduct applicant interviews, then produce graduates who are ready to feed your talent pipelines:
How Learning Works
Learning at Qwasar is based on 21st-century learning models, not on knowledge transfer.
Here’s an overview of how learning works:
Competency-based Education
Mastering the key competencies of programming is at the core of our curriculum. Our learning system is designed around what learners are capable of doing. You cannot progress in your track unless you have fully understood the concept.
Project-based Learning
Students are to complete progressively more difficult and complex software projects that build key hard skills, knowledge, and understanding, as well as soft skills such as problem-solving and creativity. Participants are also given coding exercises or challenges to make sure they’re up to speed on relevant topics and confident in their abilities.
Role Play
We use interview role play for technical interview preparation. Participants will both be the interviewee and the interviewer. This dual-sided perspective is unique to our program & helps better prepare participants for technical interviews.
Community
Learning happens in community with fellow students and Qwasar program participants. Our platform builds a supportive learning community to help students own their transition into tech industry roles.
Learning by Doing
Being a good full stack developer isn’t something you’ll learn by reading a book or watching a video. You need to DO it! Learning by doing has been scientifically proven to be a superior way of learning, but more importantly, it’s a method that simulates the workplace and prepares students for jobs.
High Developer Standards
Learners are expected to deliver projects to professional standards, meaning work is client-ready. We expect this of our learners because you expect this of your employees, and our goal is to train job-ready candidates with the skills to succeed.
What to Expect From Our Full Stack Pre-apprenticeship Program Graduates
- Able to write quality code to a norm that’s readable and maintainable
- Able to give and receive peer code reviews
- Able to pair program and work with/on a team of engineers
- Resourceful when it comes to finding a solution
- Not afraid of tackling a new subject
- Able to learn a new language or tool quickly
- Able to learn on their own
- Able to actively contribute to discussions on software architecture
- At ease using Git and version control systems, including in group/team projects
- Ready to contribute to your engineering team from Day 1
- Competent in internet research techniques
- Able to translate a project description into an architecture, code base, and deployed solution
- Determined problem solvers
What Sets Our Pre-apprenticeship Program Apart From Other Programs
- Actually train to the high entry-level requirements for software internships & apprenticeships
- Price (significantly less than other options)
- Accessibility
- Diverse population attracted by the price, the training, and the opportunity to work for your company
- High conversion rates of candidates & retention rates years later
- Quality of candidates
- Learning by doing, not hours and hours of lectures and passive learning
- Time spent coding and practice everything that you’re expected to do on the job
What Sets Us Apart
What makes Qwasar programs different from other tech training options out there? Find out how we stack up.
Recruit From Us
Looking to hire graduates from Qwasar programs? Learn more about recruiting options and how to get involved.