- Dee Gerstenkorn
BCI Skills Center Announces Salesforce Program
The BCI Skills Center is proud to announce the launch of an innovative program to teach adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities the skills needed to gain employment in roles that require knowledge of the Salesforce platform. In 2017, nearly 70% of adult Americans with developmental disabilities were unemployed. Compare this to the reported fact that the demand for Salesforce-skilled people will reach 3.3 million jobs in the United States by 2022 and you see an opportunity. A really big one.
The pilot program will begin with ten adults attending daily sessions over the course of two months beginning in January of 2019. With access to local Salesforce and industry experts, students in the course will gain a thorough understanding of the technical skills required for high-demand jobs, in addition to soft-skills like interviewing techniques, workplace communication, and collaborating with colleagues.
Todd Streff, executive director of the Skills Center knows the impact that this course can have. “Adults with Autism or other intellectual disabilities can be an incredible addition to any workforce. With the right training and preparation we believe that the adults who come through the Skills Center Salesforce program will be able to contribute right away and make an impact in their new career.”
The Skills Center has chosen the Salesforce platform as a focus for their first technical skills program because of the high demand of jobs in the St. Louis region that require Salesforce certifications as well as the ability for students to utilize Trailhead.Salesforce.com, Salesforce’s online learning website.
“Salesforce, Trailhead and the Skills Center just seem like a perfect match. We can develop a curriculum that supports our students, prepares them for high-demand, technical jobs, and they can learn along at their own pace in a guided environment,” explains Streff.
Salesforce is the world’s #1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Their cloud-based, CRM applications for sales, service, and marketing are used by more than 150,000 companies around the world. In 2015 Salesforce launched Trailhead, a fun and interactive way to learn the Salesforce platform and prepare for their highly regarded certification exams.
The Skills Center is currently securing local St. Louis area companies and organizations who use Salesforce to place graduates into Junior Administrator roles upon completion of the program.
Learn More
Interested parties can learn more about this new program at three upcoming information sessions: October 25th from 6-7 p.m. at Venture Cafe in the Cortex District in St. Louis, November 10th from 9:30-10:45 a.m. at the St. Charles City-County Library Spencer Road Branch in St. Peters, and December 1st from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Charles Community College. For full details as well as a chance to register, visit skillscenterstl.com or email info@skillscenterstl.com.
About The Skills Center
The Skills Center is a first-of-its-kind vocational training facility specifically for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We will open the Skills Center with two vocations and strategically increase careers and participants based upon needs, success, and quality opportunities. Our goal is to have at least 10 vocations and training for over 100 students by 2021. As we advance vocational training for people with disabilities to a higher level, we seek the support of more like-minded businesses to provide the greatest opportunities.
