Completion of the first Digital Academy in Germany: Capgemini and AW Academy train 17 graduates in DevOps

During the summer of 2020, Capgemini and AW Academy hosted the first Digital Academy in Germany. Seventeen participants were selected from groups that are more likely to experience discrimination in the IT job market to complete a 12-week intensive training course in DevOps. Following the graduation ceremony in Düsseldorf on October 23, twelve graduates began working as DevOps engineers at Capgemini in Germany on November 1.

Capgemini began to establish Digital Academies around the world in 2018, working in cooperation with local partners. The aim is to offer training in a future-oriented field of IT to highly motivated people who may be subject to unconscious bias when looking for a job due to their background. The focus on DevOps allows participants to gain expertise in an area that is increasingly sought after in the digital job market. Target groups of the Digital Academy in Germany include older people, mothers who want to re-enter the workforce after a long break, people looking to switch to a career in IT, people with physical disabilities, people with foreign university degrees not recognized in Germany, and immigrants.

“Digitalization won’t work without more diversity. Our society has plenty of highly valuable talents, who are unfortunately far too often unacknowledged and go unnoticed in traditional recruitment processes. We are very happy that our partner Capgemini recognizes this and joins us in focusing on candidates’ unlimited potential. It shouldn’t matter which country our future talents come from, what prior experience they have, and which gender they are. It’s about the roles our future drivers of digitalization could be in tomorrow and beyond,” says Philipp Leipold, managing director of AW Academy Germany.

AW Academy is an international service provider of professional training and adult education with a special focus on careers in IT. AW Academy’s training programs are based on the method of Accelerated Learning, which offers participants practical training at a fast pace.

Including everyone on the journey to digital transformation

Capgemini’s “Architects of Positive Futures” CSR program is dedicated to enabling positive change in business and society. One of the program’s key pillars is Digital Inclusion, which aims to ensure that all of society can benefit from digitalization. Right from the start of the intensive training course, Capgemini agreed to offer more than half of the participants an initial role after successfully graduating from the program.

“As a pioneer in digital transformation, we feel it is our responsibility to offer innovative career prospects to people with fewer options in the job market,” explains Frank Jacobsen, Head of custom solution development at Capgemini in Germany and executive sponsor of the Digital Academy. “The Digital Academy provides graduates with a highly attractive qualification that opens up exciting new opportunities in the IT industry. We have also gained valuable members for our teams in Germany.”

Author

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Matthias Wolf

CSR Manager, Germany, Capgemini.