Area employers interested in sending employees to Georgia Tech-Savannah’s coding boot camp -- a 24-week program that will give participants the skills needed to create front and back-end web applications -- are eligible to receive as much as a 90 percent tuition reimbursement via scholarship grants provided by the Coastal Workforce Investment Board. The coding boot camp and the available tuition reimbursement opportunities will be discussed at an informational breakfast on Friday, December 2, 2016, from 8:30 - 10 a.m. on the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus at 210 Technology Circle, Savannah, GA 31407.

CWIB’s Incumbent Worker Training program provides funding assistance to companies to provide skills training and increase the skill level of employees so they can be promoted within the company. Companies with 50 or fewer employees are eligible for 90 percent of training-related costs, those with 51 to 100 employees can be reimbursed for 75 percent, and businesses with 100 employees or more can receive 50 percent of costs. Employees need to have been employed for a minimum for 6 months to be eligible for funding.

“While meeting with area employers and thought leaders about the upcoming coding boot camp, we heard loud and clear that funding resources would be very beneficial,” said Diane Lee, director of Georgia Tech-Savannah. “We are pleased to be working with the Coastal Workforce Investment Board to offer area employers tuition reimbursement grants for students who graduate from the program.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, web development ranks among the world’s fastest-growing professions, with jobs projected to increase at a 20 percent annual pace through 2022. The opportunities for skilled developers have long passed the labor supply: Of more than 150,000 new openings posted each year, some 50,000 go unfilled. The median salary for professional web developers is $63,000, with some earning as much as $110,000 a year.
 
The curriculum covers everything from the basics of coding, algorithms and data structure, to intensive training in Javascript, Node.js, HTML, CSS, jQuery, C#, and more. In addition to learning in the classroom, students will spend 10-15 hours each week on outside projects and experiential learning activities to build a professional project portfolio that showcases their abilities to create web applications.
 
Students will also receive a range of career-planning services, portfolio reviews, demo days, recruiting assistance and extensive staff support. Local businesses participating in Georgia Tech Coding Boot Camp’s employer network will advise on the subject material and other student needs. While no previous experience is required, applicants should have a basic understanding of coding. Upon graduating, students will receive a certificate in Fullstack Web Development from Georgia Tech Professional Education, currently the only university-backed boot camp in the State of Georgia.
 
The Coding Boot Camp, which will start on January 24, 2017, is designed to welcome the schedules of working professionals and students, with two three-hour evening classes during the week (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.) and a four-hour class on Saturdays (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.).

For more information about the available tuition reimbursements, area employers are invited to attend an informational breakfast on Friday, December 2, 2016, from 8:30 - 10 a.m. on the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus at 210 Technology Circle, Savannah, GA 31407. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Bill Astary at [email protected] or 912-966-7913.