Computer Science

George Mason U Signs with Outsourcer to Train Students in Coding

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 02/07/17

A Virginia university is working with an outsourcing company to train its students in coding and put them to work. George Mason University has agreed to promote Revature technology training to students and recent graduates. The training may be taken online or on-site.

Revature runs free bootcamps to "qualified" applicants, which last 12 weeks and lead to professional certification in technologies such as Microsoft and Oracle. Once the training is done, Revature puts the student to work in software development for its clients.

One student who took the training was Kevin Jones, who attended Oregon State University for computer science. In a testimonial on the website, Jones said, "College was great but the curriculum was set in stone. Revature teaches you the newer technologies such as Hibernate." Currently, Jones works as a software developer for healthcare company DrFirst in Maryland as a Java programmer.

"We hear from recruiters all of the time that the shortage of tech talent is real; there are simply not enough qualified candidates to fill the available jobs," said Saskia Clay-Rooks, executive director of career services at Mason, in a prepared statement. "This partnership is a great example of how the university is responsive to the hiring needs of employers by ensuring Mason graduates are equipped with the training and experience to fuel the economic engine of this region."

George Mason University President Ángel Cabrera added, "We best serve our students – and our region – by finding inventive ways to produce graduates with the skills and knowledge coveted by many of the largest employers in Northern Virginia." He said he expected the agreement with Revature to help his institution's students "launch careers as well as fulfill our roles as a talent pool and driving economic force in the region."

Revature has similar academic partnerships with the University of Missouri and the University of South Florida, among other institutions.