P-TECH schools, new digital SkillsBuild platform and modern
apprenticeships provide opportunities to French workers in the era
of hybrid cloud, digital and AI
PARIS, May 15, 2019 /CNW/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced plans to expand its global "New Collar" programs into
France as part of a commitment to
help prepare the French workforce for the business and social
transformation being driven by hybrid cloud, digital and AI
technologies.
These plans include:
- The launch of the very first P-TECH schools in France, to provide technical and professional
educational opportunities to young people, primarily from
disadvantaged backgrounds;
- A new digital SkillsBuild platform to help the unemployed and
those changing careers develop the technical and professional
skills needed to re-enter the workforce; and
- New commitments to apprenticeship programs, including
participation in the OpenClassrooms initiative.
The announcement was made during President Macron's "Tech for
Good" Summit in Paris, where IBM
Chairman, President and CEO Ginni
Rometty is leading an education working group.
"We know that AI, like other transformative technologies before
it, will have a profound impact on peoples' jobs and the workplace.
That is why IBM is leading the way in expanding the pathways
through which students and professionals can build skills for
today's technology era," said Rometty. "Through groundbreaking
education programs like P-TECH – which we are proud to expand in
France – we can ensure that no one
is left behind in the digital age."
IBM has been making investments and partnering with governments,
educational institutions and businesses around the world to equip
the global workforce for emerging "New Collar Jobs", which are jobs
that require specialist technical skills, but not always a
traditional university degree. IBM's "New Collar" program is the
largest global initiative of its kind, with 200 P-TECH schools
serving 125,000 students across 13 countries, including
France, when the current school
year starts.
Following the "Tech for Good" Summit, Rometty delivers the
opening keynote at Viva Technology 2019 on the next chapter of
digital transformation for business. During her keynote, she
will share how businesses can accelerate their transformations by
moving mission-critical work to the hybrid cloud and by scaling AI
throughout the enterprise, driving innovation while earning the
trust of society.
Launch of P-TECH Education Initiative in France
In partnership with the French Ministry for Education, BNP Paris
and Orange, IBM announced the introduction of P-TECH (Pathways in
Technology Early College High School), a pioneering education
initiative in France.
Starting in September, the Lycée La Tournelle (La
Garenne-Colombes) and the Lycée Edmond Labbé, (Douai) will
introduce P-TECH classes, designed to provide relevant technical
and professional education opportunities to young people from
primarily disadvantaged backgrounds.
P-TECH was created by IBM in 2011 to open new pathways, by
creating a direct connection between secondary school or lycée,
college and career. The objective is to help students graduate with
a secondary school diploma and then an associate degree aligned to
industry needs, through workplace experiences, including mentorship
and internships. The French P-TECH model is based on a close
collaboration between the French Ministry of Education, French
secondary schools and partner companies. They are working together
to provide individual and long-term support to students from their
first year of lycée to their last year of college. Students who
have completed this program will then be able to choose to continue
their studies or to start working.
Launch of SkillsBuild to give digital skills to the
unemployed and those changing careers
IBM is also launching SkillsBuild, a new digital platform, which
provides job seekers –including those returning to work after
leave, the long-term unemployed, migrants, veterans and those
changing professions –with the digital content, personalized
coaching and experiential learning they need to gain technical and
professional skills required to re-enter the workforce.
The first deployment of the program will be introduced in
partnership with NGOs and non-profits, including Aurore,
Emmaüs France, Fondation Agir
Contre l'Exclusion, Fondation des Apprentis d'Auteuil, and Institut de l'Engagement.
Following its launch in France,
the program will expand to Germany
and the UK in the second half of 2019, before its global
roll-out.
Participation in the first OpenClassrooms on-line
apprenticeship program and a commitment to provide resources and
volunteers to help increase participation in science and technology
at schools
IBM will contribute to the pioneering OpenClassrooms
apprenticeship initiative with a commitment to hire apprentices and
to contribute hands-on projects and mentorship to the program.
In addition, IBM along with Accenture, Airbus, Engie, Sanofi and
Thalès, has signed a "Declaration for Sciences and Technology at
School", with a commitment to encourage employees to volunteer in
schools, to provide support to students and teachers, and to
provide technology resources in support of volunteers from all
companies.
The first program identified for support by IBM will be "Yes we
code!" in partnership with the Fondation CGenial.
IBM investing in France
In addition to these "New Collar" programs, IBM recommitted to
investments to support business and societal transformation in
France, including new regional
centers with public and private partners:
- In 2018, IBM announced it would create 1,800 new jobs in
AI, blockchain and IoT, critical areas for growth in France. A year later, more than 1,000
positions have been filled, and IBM is on track to fill remaining
positions.
- IBM also announced progress in the introduction of the IBM
France Academy, to train IBM France employees, clients and
partners to build modern workforce skills. Developers
from La Banque Postale (ZAcademy) and RtimX (SNCF subsidiary)
have been some of the first to go through the training.
- In January 2018, IBM opened a new
Security Operation Center (SOC) in Lille, to help French companies from across
the country. Since January of 2018 there have been over 100
billion security events captured in the center. The new
center is a 24/7 operation driving security incident simulation and
supporting IBM clients.
- In September 2018, IBM created
the IBM Q Hub (quantum centre) in Montpellier for research and
development on quantum computing, based on a partnership project
with the Université de Montpellier
and supported by the Région Occitanie/Pyrénées-Méditerranée. The
new team working in the IBM Q Hub provide worldwide support for the
open source software platform Qiskit.
- On April 8, 2019, IBM inaugurated
IBM Paris-Saclay, and announced the opening of a
co-innovation centre within the next two years. IBM
Paris-Saclay is a first step to accelerate IBM's collaboration with
public and private partners, such as Guerbet, whose AI team will
regularly come to the new site to work on the "Liver Care Advisor"
project supporting the diagnosis and treatment of liver
cancer.
Media Contacts:
Sophie Paillard
IBM Media Relations
+33-1-5875-3420
sophie.paillard@fr.ibm.com
Sandrine Durupt
IBM Media Relations
+33-1-5875-1795
sandrine-durupt@fr.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM