Servicenow partners with Irish Refugee Council to offer intensive tech training program to refugees and underprivileged

ServiceNow, has partnered with the Irish Refugee Council and Purpl Unicorn to offer its global NextGen training programme to refugees here in Ireland. The nine-week intensive bootcamp aims to break down the barriers to entry into highly skilled tech jobs, closing the technical skills gap and offering a certified training programme to underprivileged communities and refugees. 

Globally, the company has been operating the program since 2019; and in Ireland the pilot already has a waiting list of 200 people with an aim to train every applicant and hire 93% of trainees straight into a Junior Developer role within ServiceNow, its partners or customers.  

Syrian Refugee Depp Maatouk is currently in bootcamp stage of the program here in Ireland and said: 

“I was a journalist back home in Syria. When I arrived in Ireland, everyone seemed to be talking about tech and coding. I quickly recognised that there are many opportunities here for those with tech skills and a good qualification. I really appreciate being accepted onto the ServiceNow NextGen program and plan on upskilling as fast as I can.”  

In the face of the growing IT talent shortage, sourcing IT professionals remains one of the greatest challenges for employers with a serious tech talent shortage. ServiceNow aims to be part of the solution, while at the same time giving opportunities to the underprivileged and addressing a lack of diversity and inclusion in the IT industry.  

By tailoring training to meet their needs, participants in the NextGen program follow a clearly-defined path designed to improve career opportunities in technology and enable them to actively take part in the burgeoning digital economy.

Laurent Briant, Director of Global Government Programs, ServiceNow said: 

“The tech sector as a whole must work collectively to make technology careers more accessible and to help support the grave refugee crisis. There is an enormous and diverse, untapped pool of talent out there and it is our aim to make entry more accessible and equitable. We want to empower more people and give them the opportunity to work with one of the fastest growing technology platforms in the world.” 

Paul Donnelly, Operations Director, Unify Limited has so far hired 5 Graduates from the program. He said: 

“To anyone debating taking part in the program and taking on talent I would say it’s a no brainer. It doesn’t cost you anything other than time. To have highly skilled and highly trained employees who are hungry, who are keen to learn, who want to change their lifestyle and career path; is an amazing opportunity for both parties.

By 2024, there will be a shortage of 15,000 talented IT employees in Ireland. The Next Gen program is bringing along this unbelievably talented pool of people who have a very different skills set to the traditional IT skills set which businesses like UNIFY can tap into and benefit from a much more diverse skillset of people. There is what I refer to as a “merry-go-round of talent” coming along the line thanks to this program. We’re not seeing these people as talent for today but the talent for the future” 

Dina Vyapuri, founder of Purpl Unicorn said: 

“Our aim is to put people at the forefront of everything we do, to help companies achieve innovation in their teams through real inclusion and diversity; and offer everyone we can equal opportunities.”  

The pressure is on employers to attract and retain the best talent, and companies who are successfully tackling big issues of diversity and inclusion are best placed to do this.  

To apply for a place on the NextGen Training Programme visit:  

https://nextgeneration.service-now.com/apply 

May, August and November courses now taking applications.  

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