Workforce Readiness

Amazon Expands AWS Cloud Training Program

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 10/21/20

Amazon has added new cities for its full-time, 12-week technology upskilling program, AWS re/Start. Currently, the program has "cohort locations" in 18 cities across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The newest additions in the United States are San Jose and San Francisco; Martinsville, VA; New York City; and Newark, NJ.

Each tuition-free program is intended to help unemployed and underemployed people — especially those in underrepresented demographics — gain new skills in cloud computing to help them get entry-level jobs in a high-demand field. Students work through scenario-based learning, hands-on labs and coursework.

The training is provided by three organizations: Year Up in San Jose and San Francisco; New College Institute in Martinsville; and Per Scholas in Boston, Washington, DC, New York and Newark. When participants have finished their programs, they get connections to potential employers for jobs in cloud operations, site reliability, infrastructure support and related functions.

"We are excited to work with AWS in providing our talented young adults with the opportunity to build such valuable, in-demand cloud computing skills," said Roosevelt Callahan, Year Up's regional director in the Bay Area, in a statement. "Equipping our students with a strong foundation in cloud computing — along with an industry-recognized AWS Certification — will dramatically increase our students' earning potential as they enter and grow in the world of technology."

Amazon is actively seeking employers that are interested in hiring AWS re/Start graduates.