CompTIA Recognizes Trocaire for Innovation in Educating New Technology Professionals

In recognition of its efforts to help those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic transition to new careers in information technology, Trocaire College was recently presented with an Innovation Award by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the global technology industry. Trocaire is one of 12 organizations recognized by CompTIA during its recent Partner Summit. More than 1,500 people from 70-plus countries participated in the online event.

CompTIA’s Innovation Award recognizes partners for their response to the pandemic and their commitment to continue to train to CompTIA courses and certification as they prepared students for careers in information technology (IT).

As the unemployment numbers began to increase in the United States as a result of the economic toll caused by the pandemic, Trocaire offered a free, five-week online IT Career Exploration course. Based on the CompTIA IT Fundamentals+ certification, the instructor-led course was designed to dispel that misconception that an IT career is out of reach for the average person. When Trocaire announced the course, it hoped to register two groups of 15 students, but by the end of the week they had received 250 applications and delivered the course to five cohorts of 20 students each.

“Our commitment to preparing individuals for careers of achievement in technology has not wavered in the midst of a global pandemic,” said Dan Neville, director of the Trocaire Technology Institute. “The IT sector is resilient in Western New York, and our IT Career Exploration course illustrated that basic entry level skills needed for a career in IT are a willingness to learn and a customer service orientation. Thank you to CompTIA for recognizing that the programs at Trocaire Technology Institute are not only best-in-class, but also world-class as we were honored to be one of only two awardees from North America.”

CompTIA is the global leader in vendor-neutral technical education and certifications in skills ranging from IT support and networking to cybersecurity and cloud computing. Nearly 2.7 million CompTIA certifications have been awarded to technology professionals in 232 countries around the world.

“The critical role filled by technology professionals during the pandemic has been acknowledged by many, and rightly so,” said Joe Padin, CompTIA vice president for business development. “For many IT pros, the knowledge and skills they employ today were sparked and nurtured under the tutelage of teachers, instructors and trainers. CompTIA is pleased to present this award to the Trocaire College team for their contributions to help individuals realize their career aspirations.”

Trocaire offers degrees and certificate programs in cybersecurity, data analytics and healthcare informatics. The Trocaire Technology Institute also provides non-credit career training to businesses and consumers through the college’s Workforce Development division. For more information, visit staging.trocaire.edu/it.