gener8tor, SOVA Innovation Hub and Microsoft recently announced an effort to launch gener8tor Upskilling, a free training program to help Southern Virginia residents get critical digital skills for in-demand jobs. The program will kick off its first, virtual class on Oct. 19.
gener8tor Upskilling Southern Virginia will be open to all Southern Virginia residents seeking to develop new skills or enhance existing skills in Customer Service or Sales.
This five-week, cohort-based program will include
w Self-paced virtual curriculum from Microsoft and LinkedIn to learn skills for in-demand customer service or sales roles, and earn certifications and badges;
w One-on-one concierge support from the gener8tor team on the skills content, plus coaching on interview skills and resume, LinkedIn profile and cover letter writing;
w Virtual access to a network of peers who can support each other and form a community; and
w Opportunities to interview with companies ready to hire candidates with these skills.
At the end of the five-week program, participants will have the ability to leverage the resources of these organizations to access a job in their community or at national companies hiring for virtual jobs.
“The pandemic has forced us to look at the widening digital divide in our community. Through Microsoft TechSpark, we are committed to helping people gain the skills they need in order to move into available jobs within the digital era,” said Jeremy Satterfield, manager of TechSpark Southern Virginia at Microsoft.
“gener8tor is focused on helping communities invest in themselves in projects just like this,” said Joe Kirgues, co-founder and partner at gener8tor. “We are excited to partner with the SOVA Innovation Hub and Microsoft to help people learn new digital skills and get the experience they need to succeed in jobs with local and national employers.”
“We are excited to be working with gener8tor and Microsoft to bring this opportunity to the citizens of Southern Virginia,” said Lauren Mathena, director of economic development and community engagement for Mid-Atlantic Broadband and SOVA Innovation Hub. “The goal of the SOVA Innovation Hub is to inspire people to pursue digital careers and entrepreneurship, and the skills taught in this program are critical to success in these fields.”
Microsoft recently announced its global skilling initiative, which seeks to help 25 million people worldwide whose jobs have been affected by COVID-19 gain new skills by the end of the calendar year. Nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor will leverage its proven accelerator playbook, which provides individualized mentorship and coaching to startups across the country, to help individuals get upskilled.
For more information on how to participate, visit gener8torupskilling.com/southern-virginia.
The SOVA Innovation Hub is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created by Mid-Atlantic Broadband (MBC) and Microsoft to spark economic transformation in Southern Virginia.
By bringing together business and education partners to offer innovative programs, the goal of the Hub is to inspire people in Southern Virginia to pursue digital careers and entrepreneurship.
The new, state-of-the-art SOVA Innovation Hub facility in South Boston includes a coworking space, a training space and the Microsoft Experience Center.
