Reskill Non-Tech Talent for Software Careers

With these three elements in place—program requirements, recruiting strategy and champions—organizations can proceed with designing the actual reskilling program.

Schneider called these “multi-layer programs,” because they involve more than just technical training. In addition to building technical know-how specific to the jobs they’re destined for, participants must learn how to think like programmers.

“If you’re a cashier or work in a call center, your day-to-day interactions and the way you work is different from the way developers work on a development team,” explained Schneider. Effective reskilling programs model how to approach and solve problems, research issues, collaborate on a software team and more.

For organizations interested in reskilling non-tech employees, it’s important to have realistic expectations. “You’re not trying to create experts by the end of the program,” said Schneider. “You are preparing entry-level developers. So, you want to give them the skills they need to get started, and then the confidence they need to be successful and to continue to grow those skills as they move into their jobs.”