CompTIA Newsroom

16-Week IT-Ready Program Prepares Students for Tech Careers

Downers Grove, Ill. - Registration is now open for the 2021 sessions of CompTIA Tech Career Academy online classes with the first starting January 11 and having applications due December 6. The pivot to virtual workplaces is increasing the need for workers with technology skills and this 16-week course provides training for a successful IT career. With the unemployment rate for IT occupations at 4.6 percent, nearly half the national unemployment rate of 8.4 percent, the program is ideal for unemployed adults or those looking to change careers. Students do not need prior tech education, such as a degree in computer science, or tech work experience to apply to CompTIA Tech.

In its IT-Ready Technical Support program, CompTIA Tech prepares students for the CompTIA A+ certification exam, one of the leading industry certifications for landing a job on an IT help desk and launching a tech career. Students also learn additional business skills needed to succeed in an IT career including teamwork, customer service, and communication skills, and they receive career services to connect to CompTIA Tech’s network of 100+ employer partners.

Online classes are limited to 35 students to allow for close interactions in real time with a certified, professional instructor. Morning classes run Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to Noon CT. Evening classes run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. CT. The full 2021 schedule of classes is posted at www.CompTIATech.org/Apply.

“CompTIA Tech helps to fill the more than 650,000 open tech jobs in the U.S. by teaching adults, especially the unemployed and underemployed, including those with limited or no tech skills, how to secure IT jobs,” said Charles Eaton, CEO of CompTIA Tech. “We recommend that new tech workers start on the IT help desk where they’ll get to see how all the different parts of a business come together and how technology helps those parts run more efficiently. From the help desk, then people can better envision how they want to grow their tech careers. Our IT-Ready Technical Support program prepares our graduates to be ready for IT help desk jobs.”

How to Apply

CompTIA Tech has designed a straightforward process for applying to IT-Ready Technical Support that includes an online application and assessment, a video interview with an advisor and application materials review by the admissions staff. There is no application fee.

CompTIA Tech offers students financial assistance in the form of grants and loans. CompTIA Grants are available to qualifying students and do not need to be repaid:

• $1,000: Individuals who have been historically under-represented in the tech industry (Blacks, Latinx, Native Americans and women)
• $1,000: U.S. military veterans, their spouses, or caregivers
• Partial tuition amount (50%): Annual income above 200% but below 300% of the federal poverty threshold
• Full tuition amount: Annual income below 200% of the federal poverty threshold

CompTIA Tech also offers student loans through a partnership with UNISA. Students pay nothing and do not accrue any interest on their loans during their training or the three-month grace period that begins after the last day of attendance. The out-of-school interest rate is a 2% annual rate with the loan to be paid back over the course of 4 to 5 years.

CompTIA Tech’s online campus is open to residents of AK, AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MN, MS, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, SC, SD, TN, VT, VA, WA, WV and WY. Other states and territories will be added in the future. Prospective students can apply at CompTIATech.org.

About CompTIA Tech Career Academy
As a non-profit, CompTIA Tech Career Academy trains and prepares adults for certification and success in IT jobs. Its sole motivation is to help students land and thrive in IT jobs in order to grow the tech workforce. CompTIA Tech is a nonprofit subsidiary of Creating IT Futures Foundation, a 501c3 charitable organization. Creating IT Futures, in turn, is a subsidiary of the nonprofit, international tech trade association, CompTIA. Learn more at CompTIATech.org.