While large layoffs in some quarters of the tech sector dominate the news, another story continuing to loom large over the industry is the talent shortage when it comes to specialist skillsets.
With unabated demand for these skills set to hit 90 percent of all organizations by 2025, the time is now to start addressing the shortage. Or ServiceNow, one might say.
Volteo Digital has long been integrated into the ServiceNow ecosystem as an Official Talent Placement Partner. Alongside this position, the Arizona, US-headquartered company has a dedicated ServiceNow consulting and implementation practice, having worked with the vendor since 2013. As such, they are well placed to be a contributing force in helping ServiceNow meet its ambitious RiseUp quota of one million people trained on the platform by 2024.
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Earlier this year, as RiseUp was in the making, Volteo Digital opened the biggest ever ServiceNow pure-play Center of Excellence (CoE) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The CoE is a community engagement innovation and education hub, and a strategic response from Volteo to the growing skills gulf in tech.
From the CoE the transformation company has launched the NextGen last-mile education program for junior engineers and young professionals in Mexico. As crucial as providing the right skills to their people is to Volteo, so is the focus on placing their graduates in actual positions. NextGen grads therefore will be placed out in the ServiceNow ecosystem so they can apply their learning in real-life career positions.
Aldo Gonzalez, Volteo’s director of global marketing communications, tells ERP Today what the ServiceNow partnership gave the program in offering hands-on training, and taking the learning from textbook to real application.
“One thing that is unique about our training is that junior consultants work with experienced senior consultants for professional shadowing,” says Gonzalez. “They learn consulting skills, soft skills, product certification, industry training, but also platform work with real customers. So it is real engagement.”
“We truly have a passion for ServiceNow, and our mission is about making life-changing events for our employees,” adds Ryan Gallagher, COO of Volteo Digital.
The flagship program launched earlier this year amongst Mexico’s top universities. The selection process involved a technical exam and tests for attitude and aptitude, with the successful candidates attending a four-month boot camp. The NextGen syllabus meanwhile covers technical, consultive, and critical soft skills training required for the next generation of talent to conquer the big issues of the future.
From shadowing live implementation projects to engaging with customers and learning how to ask questions and listen actively, NextGen is a dynamic addition to laying the learning foundations for future leaders.
Where ServiceNow’s aim is to make the world work better, Volteo also brings the life-changing capacity of their program into the mix. News of layoffs across the tech industry may be putting a dampener into the hearts of individuals about to graduate, but the voice from the ServiceNow-Volteo alliance has a different tone.
Breaking down barriers to entry to the industry is also a big pillar for both Volteo Digital and ServiceNow; not only is RiseUp a global program that gives opportunities for people outside the traditional tech hubs, but it is also aimed at giving opportunities to people who may not have considered a position in tech.
“The exciting thing with the Rise Up program and our initiative is you’re getting people from different backgrounds that perhaps traditionally wouldn’t get into tech or might have seen this as a different journey,” Gallagher tells ERP Today. “And we’re so on board with the appeal to get different folks from different backgrounds. It makes us a better organization.”
The first cohort of students in NextGen is due to graduate in a few weeks in early December, making for a welcome addition to the RiseUp mission. Volteo Digital has plans to extend its flagship program from Mexico to the US and on to the rest of the world.
