Technology is no longer a foreign concept in the construction world. Boasting some of the most innovative programming and acting as the perfect working lab for ancillary technologies, construction is the ideal place to show off just how well technologies can improve efficiency and boost productivity. In the office, on the road, and on the jobsite, this final frontier of industries willing to automate is taking on some great new concepts including the following:
Foundation to create the curriculum. The program will be designed to coordinate with AWS certification exams and other credentials in the IT industry. The first group of students in the associate-degree program will begin in the fall of 2020, but Todd Warner, executive in residence for workforce innovation at Columbus State, said the college already is working to update existing courses with elements of cloud computing.
AWS describes cloud computing as the “the on-demand delivery of (computing) power, database storage, applications and other IT resources through a cloud services platform via the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.”
It’s a skill set that is in increasing demand and can lead to jobs that pay well, Columbus State said in its announcement. “This is another step forward in keeping our academic programs relevant and meeting the needs of employers and what they’re looking for,” Warner said.
The announcement of the degree program also follows the school’s September announcement that it will offer two cloud computing courses from AWS Academy that help students earn IT certifications. The degree program builds on those offerings, Warner said.
“It allows us to provide a student a body of work that they can show a potential employer,” he said. “It gives them context to understand ‘What I built in one class is used in the next.’” Columbus State will be one of fewer than 20 higher-education institutions across the country to partner with AWS to develop such a program, Warner said.
“Cloud computing has created a massive job opportunity, and Columbus State is playing an important role in driving workforce opportunities and powering innovation in the Ohio community,” Ken Eisner, global lead for AWS Educate, said in a news release. “We deeply value this collaboration with Columbus State and the potential for this degree offering to help diversify the tech talent pipeline and power the cloud workforce of tomorrow.” ▪