As we close out another year, it’s always fun to take a look ahead to what might be in store for the upcoming year. If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. And with 2022 being our 10th Anniversary, we’re sure there will be a few surprises along the way. (All good we hope!)
There’s a lot of excitement in the air as we enter January this year. Of course, every new year at NSS starts with new classes beginning and graduations for those that are finishing their programs. Nearly 100 students will be graduating from NSS in January alone! And if everything remains on track, 2022 will be our biggest year yet - we should meet almost 600 new career changers on the first day of their classes in 2022.
New Programs
We recently announced the launch of two new programs that will begin in 2022. In June, Cohort 1 of our Software Engineering with Java/AWS Specialization program, built in collaboration with Amazon, will begin their nine-month journey towards a career in tech.
To help prepare students for that program, we’re launching our new Software Engineering Jumpstart in February. The new Jumpstart is also open to those who are interested in an introduction to server-side development.
Companies Are Thinking Outside The Box
In 2021 we started to notice a trend among employers, both those that are new to town and those that have called Nashville home for years. These companies are looking for new and creative ways to fill the tech talent gaps within their organizations and the community. Our collaboration with Amazon to launch the Software Engineering program is one example of this, but other organizations have started to embrace apprenticeships or have created internal training programs that dovetail with our programs. We’re excited to partner with employers to support their efforts to respond creatively to the much more competitive talent market in Nashville. We don’t know all that 2022 will hold on this front, but the possibilities are thrilling.
We’re also working with community-led organizations to introduce more Nashvillians to the career opportunities available in tech. One of Nashville’s challenges in striving to not leave anyone behind as the local economy transforms is ensuring that all of our friends and neighbors are aware of what the possibilities are for tech careers. In particular, we’re excited about the work Blacks In Technology Nashville and Culturally Tech are doing to introduce tech careers to Black adults and students. We’re also hopeful that we’ll see Nashville’s vibrant tech meetup community return to in-person events and hope to see some of our favorite homegrown conferences return.
Big Goals for 2022!
We have a lot of big goals for 2022! We’re expanding our fundraising efforts to be able to support more students with scholarships and our Opportunity Tuition. You can help us with this goal by supporting our scholarship fund. Behind the scenes, we’re making operational improvements to better accommodate our growth and we’re exploring what our next new program might be. Finally, we expect to celebrate our 2000th graduate late this summer. 2022 is shaping up to be another great year!
Happy New Year from all your friends at NSS!
