Summit Academy OIC

The Minnesota Technology Association recently released its 2024 State of Tech Talent Report highlighting the growing need for IT and tech workers in Minnesota—indicating nearly 39,000 job openings expected over the next five years. Employers will face pressure to attract new talent and retain their experienced workforce. That's where Summit comes in. Summit's IT students go through 20 weeks of hands-on, accredited training and gain industry-recognized credentials like CompTIA A+ and CompTIA IT Fundamentals. When they graduate, they are ready to make an immediate impact and will be the workforce of the future. Read the full report here: 

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the job market for Healthcare Support Occupations is projected to grow 11.5 percent by 2032—over two times the increase across other occupations. At Summit, we have the healthcare talent to support your team well into the future. Thank you to Children's Minnesota and all other employer partners who attended last week’s healthcare career fair at Summit! Contact Amanda Hardy at  ahardy@saoic.org to learn more about how you can get involved and recruit Summit talent.

What an inspiring evening we had on Thursday celebrating the success of the Scaling Up for Greater Impact campaign! This initiative is all about empowering individuals to embark on life-changing career paths, strengthening our entire community in the process. A special shoutout to our amazing alumni speakers Antonio Dinkins, Robyn Berkley, Nathan Richardson Jr., and our Summit partner, Arctic explorer, educator, and environmental ambassador Will Steger. Your stories and insights truly inspire us all!

To achieve true economic equity in Minnesota, we need to create intentional career opportunities for people who have historically been left out. That includes people who have been impacted by the justice system. Summit’s 20-week construction training is an opportunity for formerly incarcerated men and women to gain the skills and credentials they need to launch themselves into a good-paying and stable job. Summit also offers a 10-week GED program—and all career trainings are offered at no-cost to students.

Thank you to our incredible employer partners for participating in Summit's Construction Career Fair last week! For Aerotek, connecting Summit's carpentry and electrician talent to entry-level construction jobs is an easy and reliable task. “[Summit] has very qualified people. We work with a lot of entry-level jobs for a lot of different companies, and that’s what they're looking for. Right when [Summit graduates] get on the job, they already have hands-on experience and know what to expect.” —Anthony Delgreco, Aerotek Recruiter Stay tuned for updates on our next career fair. In the meantime, please connect with Amanda Hardy at ahardy@saoic.org if you'd like to partner with Summit to find your local talent.

We recently completed another round of successful "mock" interviews with current carpentry and electrician students! A huge thank you to participating companies for volunteering your time. Mock interviews help Summit students prepare for real job interviews—and it's great to practice interviewing with local employers who know and understand the industry. Thank you to carpentry employer volunteers from: Braxton Construction Building Talent Foundation J. Benson Construction Corporation John A. Dalsin & Son Knutson Construction Services MOLTRON BUILDERS INC. Olympic Companies, Inc. Premier Construction Services Simonson Lumber Co TCOS - Twin City Outdoor Services Inc. Thank you to electrician employer volunteers from: Aerotek Aldridge Electric ATEK Distribution Building Talent Foundation Design Ready Controls Electrical Association Electronic Design Company Knobelsdorff Minneapolis Electrical JATC

Summit Academy OIC’s Youth Career Pathways program prepares teens for careers in STEM. A highlight this summer was the Design Studio, our summer Architecture program in partnership with RSP Architects! For 6 weeks, the high school students learned the basics of 3D Design through hands-on guidance of SketchUp CAD software from local, professional architects. Teens also visited Mortenson, where they learned about the building process. They even got to practice driving a mini-crane. For their projects, the students designed unique Little Free Libraries for their neighborhood. The requirements were simple­: the project m­ust hold books, protect them from weather, and be accessible. The teens came up with exciting concepts and even used Augmented Reality to visualize what their Little Free Libraries would look like built to scale. The students’ final project consisted of designing a space station colony for Mars. They worked together to brainstorm the necessary buildings, technologies, and specific requirements for designing a livable space on a hostile planet. They used Artificial Intelligence Image Generators to find ideas to start with. The students had the opportunity to present their designs to an audience of family, friends, peers, and staff at RSP Architects. One of the students participated in a Job-Shadow day at RSP Architects to learn more about the everyday happenings of an Architect as a career pathway! Thanks RSP Architects for another amazing Design Studio class!

Thanks to Old National Bank for supporting the Financial Services training at Summit Academy OIC for fiscal year 2025! Their first-ever grant will help grow the soft- and industry-specific skills our students need to secure a career in the financial services industry. “Summit Academy OIC has an impressive track record of providing outstanding training for good-paying jobs in the Twin Cities,” says Corrie Maki Knudson, Old National Bank Foundation board member. “Old National is pleased to support their financial services program and looks forward to seeing the effect of focusing on what has been a gap in the workforce market.” Thanks, Old National, for making it possible for our students to prepare for career-advancing roles in financial services and have brighter futures! #ONBProud

This Friday, Oct. 11, Summit will join Minnesota Technology Association for the 2024 Tech Talent Conference at Best Buy Headquarters. Our Employer Engagement Manager, Amanda Hardy, will host a discussion with Prime Digital Academy that focuses on how organizations can proactively build non-traditional talent pipelines—including working directly with us to find and hire skilled tech and IT talent. Register today for the conference: https://lnkd.in/gxcY7m6a Email Amanda Hardy at ahardy@saoic.org to learn more about how you can partner with Summit to find your Tech and IT talent solutions.

Find your next hire at a Summit Career Fair. Join us on October 15-16, and October 24 and land skilled talent ready to make an immediate impact at your company or organization. You don't want to miss this! Details below: 💻 IT Career Fair – Tuesday, October 15 from 1–3 p.m. at the NSIC (1256 Penn Avenue N. - 4th Floor) 👷♂️Construction Career Fair – Wednesday, October 16 from 1–3 p.m. at our Main Campus (935 Olson Memorial Hwy - Activity Center) 🏥Medical Administrative Assistant Career Fair – Thursday, October 24 from 1–2:30 p.m. at our Main Campus (935 Olson Memorial Hwy - Activity Center) Email Amanda Hardy today to find out how you can be a part of our Career Fairs: ahardy@saoic.org