RMU offers new course in Amazon cloud computing with eyes on retaining local tech talent | Latest Information

The Robert Morris University announced Thursday that it will join a high-demand cloud bill certificate program to prepare students for information technology for lucrative work in the city. He claims he is the first institution in Pennsylvania to do it.

The university will accept the AWS Academy Program of the Amazone Web Services, a curriculum that teaches students the cloud computing architecture, and pushes for the certification of Amazon's web services.

Cloud computing is a platform for companies to store and support multiple commercial operations, an alternative to the most expensive initial investments in hardware. Cloud-based services, like Amazon, usually involve a monthly or annual maintenance and accommodation fee.

Amazon's web services control a large part of the market share for cloud computers, but Microsoft, Google and IBM are being prosecuted.

When students get acquainted with Amazon's cloud computing architecture, RMU tries to prepare students to obtain the AWS Certified Solutions Architect-Associate Certification Exam, which is a highly profitable and on-demand capability, according to a global study of Knowledge Training, in Cary, NC, computer and business-based training company.

This is an attractive option for the technological talent of Pittsburgh, which grew 12 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to a recent report by the CBRE Group, Inc. Commercial Property Company. in California. The region has the fourth largest working group among other small technology markets with 42,130 employees.

But it is not always easy to maintain a high level of technical employment, even with abundant university talent turning to the region.

"Pittsburgh is a model of economic rejuvenation and has become one of the most dynamic regions in the country, but our impetus will not stop signifying workers in these high tech fields," said Mr. Chris Howard, president of the RMU, said in a statement.

The Allegheny Community Development Conference, a non-profit company based on civil society, issued a study last year indicating that there is a shortage of IT professionals in Pittsburgh.

The study, "Bending point: supply, demand and future of work in the Pittsburgh region," indicated that supply and demand in IT jobs do not match; The authors will write it over the next decade, IT work will grow 11 percent, or 2.6 times faster than the market.

"But better maintenance of IT graduates from local universities, as well as increasing talent attempts, will help to close this gap," the report said. "A barrier to attract and retain talent in the area could be a wage lower than the average wages of IT professionals in the Pittsburgh region compared to the country."

According to the Global Knowledge Training study, employees with AWS certification earn an average salary of more than $ 125,000.

The average annual technical salary for workers in Pittsburgh was $ 80,432 in 2016, compared to $ 123,158 in the San Francisco area, California, according to the CBRE report.

"AWS Academy talks about our commitment to help entrepreneurs eliminate the gap of competencies in local workforce," said Derya Jacobs, Vice President Corporate Relations Vice President and Senior Vice President. "More importantly, it will give our own students skills and valuable knowledge to promote their own careers."