Carol Collins
AT&T has partnered with Northern Virginia Community College to establish an information technology apprenticeship program intended to provide on-the-job IT training for NOVA students and set up a pool of talent for the company.
Students who complete the program are expected to be equipped with technical and soft skills, lab work and other related skills through in-person and virtual training, AT&T said Tuesday.
Participants will graduate with 2,000 hours of OJT experience and the federal government will sponsor their security clearances.
Jill Singer, vice president of defense and national security at AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet, said recruiting qualified IT talent has become a recurring challenge in federal agencies, specifically those that are focused on national security.
“Our new IT apprenticeship program … allows us to further help agencies address their specific entry-level IT talent needs to deliver their missions,” added Singer, a six-time Wash100 awardee and a GovCon Expert.
The new program is part of the expansion of AT&T Catapult, which seeks to create a skilled pool of entry-level professionals who can help in the missions of national security agencies.
AT&T said the program, created in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, will accept applications from Aug. 26 to Sept. 23. Classes will begin in January 2022.
