Combating the shortage of technology specialists with an IT education alliance
Founded in summer 2017 by the Migros Lucerne Cooperative, the Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IBAW) joins forces with Microsoft Switzerland in an educational alliance to combat the shortage of technology specialists and strengthen the dual education system in Switzerland.
By 2025, Switzerland will need more than 25,000 additional specialists in the field of information technology, according to a study conducted by the ICT Vocational Training Switzerland is forecast. To counteract this development, investments in basic education as well as in further education in the field of IT are urgently needed. The education alliance between Microsoft Switzerland and the Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IBAW) of Migros Lucerne is therefore pursuing the goal of jointly training and educating more than 1,500 specialists by 2021, ranging from cloud architects, data analysts, and business informatics specialists to programmers and system and network technicians. The alliance is not entirely altruistic, as Microsoft also has a keen interest in reducing the technology skills shortage. The partnership with the IBAW is part of the company's commitment to Switzerland. Marc Weder, who is responsible for education customers at Microsoft Switzerland, is convinced of the importance of the education alliance: "The IBAW's innovative offerings for IT specialists, such as the new Data Scientist NDK HF course, as well as the special training courses for teachers in the use of digital tools, make an important contribution to reducing the shortage of skilled workers and thus to strengthening Switzerland as a place to do business and live."
The Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IBAW) offers high-quality and practical training programs in the field of "Information Technology" for private individuals and companies/institutions at various locations in German-speaking Switzerland. There are currently eight courses of study and various seminars to choose from. In addition to the range of continuing education courses, investments are now also being made in increasing the quality of training. Existing training and continuing education courses at the IBAW are being enriched with manufacturer certifications such as the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert). The latest digital learning media, such as animated learning nuggets or VR learning sequences, are being designed and integrated into the training. Michael Achermann, Head of IBAW, on the collaboration: "As a technology leader, Microsoft is the ideal partner for us to align our training courses with the current and future needs of companies: Thus, we provide our students with state-of-the-art teaching forms and methods and develop new tools, such as mixed reality/hololens learning environments or machine learning, for varied and successful teaching."
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