UST Step IT Up - April 2022

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This is the UST and Step IT Up – headline of changing lives by teaching the feature tech skill

DIGITAL REPORT 2021

DIGITAL REPORT 2022

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

UST and Step IT Up changing lives by te tech skill 2

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Olwyn DePutron Director, UST Step IT Up

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UST STEP IT UP

The Step IT Up initiative from digital transformation specialists UST trains minority, women and veteran candidates for in-demand technology jobs

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rganisations worldwide face a skills shortage that could quickly become a crisis.

Facing the perfect personnel storm due to the pandemic, digital transformation and the so-called Great Resignation, there are more vacant IT jobs than qualified people ready and prepared for those roles. Demand is high and supply is low, which means wage inflation as companies become embroiled in a bidding war to hire and retain talent.

It’s a problem that isn’t going away anytime soon, but only one with a brilliant solution.

UST Step IT Up takes talented individuals from minority communities, women and service veterans and trains them in skills that employers need right now. From cyber security analyst to scrum master, from python developer to project manager – Step IT Up’s intensive apprenticeship programme makes a meaningful difference.

The accelerated talent development programme has already placed more than 1,000 candidates in the US, Europe, and Australia as the global footprint of this initiative expands.

Olwyn DePutron is the director of UST Step IT Up. www.ust.com

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UST STEP IT UP

“My role is to make Step IT Up a success for our clients, UST and the lives that we touch,” she says. “The programme trains underrepresented individuals and veterans for successful careers in specific technology roles.”

“Step IT Up is a programme that knows no borders,” says DePutron. “We've done it in Europe. We've done it in Latin America, we have a flavour of it in Asia as well.

Diversity is defined differently by different organisations and countries, so we consider and match our recruiting efforts depending on the client.”

So what does Step IT Up look for in a candidate? That in some ways depends on the candidate’s situation. A four-year US degree in anything is acceptable, not just relating to technology, and veterans would 6

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have their years of service considered in lieu of a Bachelor Degree.

“We do have some clients that have removed the need for a degree because they understand that hinders some of their talent pools, so some clients have looked to bring in alternative candidates or look at alternative programmes to fill their talent pipeline,” says DePutron.

HOW ORGANISATIONS CAN STEP IT UP? Any organisation can reach out to UST to help solve their skills shortages with UST Step IT Up. You do not have to be a customer of UST to take advantage of this inspirational programme. Simply search for Step IT Up or contact Olwyn DePutron directly and she will walk you through the process.

UST STEP IT UP

“ DIVERSITY IS DEFINED DIFFERENTLY

BY DIFFERENT ORGANISATIONS AND DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, SO WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND MATCH OUR RECRUITING EFFORTS DEPENDING ON THE CLIENT” OLWYN DEPUTRON

DIRECTOR OF THE STEP IT UP PROGRAMME, UST

Clients who have become involved with Step IT Up tend to be large organisations taken from the Fortune 500. They come from a wide range of verticals and geographies, which again highlights the need but also the recognition that this is a fantastic opportunity for Step IT Up candidates.

Even Joe Biden has given Step IT Up his seal of approval, visiting the Detroit centre when he was US Vice President and commenting: “We can’t train and pray, we have to train and place”.

“The good thing about Step IT Up is it is custom focused on specific skill sets,” says DePutron. “Our clients embrace that because many of them deal with a war on talent. Not only that, but also folks are retiring and leaving the organisation, and they're losing knowledge base. We work with clients to understand what that skill

UST STEP IT UP

Olwyn DePutron TITLE: DIRECTOR INDUSTRY: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: N EW YORK, USA

“ IF YOU HAVE PASSION, WE CAN TEACH YOU ANYTHING” 8

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“I'm a graduate with an MBA from Texas Tech University. I started off my career in marketing with a focus on international marketing.

I love culture, love people. My career journey took me through a series of inside sales business development opportunities.

I've worked in Amsterdam. I've worked in Jamaica, and now I'm with UST based in New York.

The thing about my career that I love is the lives I have touched.

Every step I was able to provide something of value to someone – whether it's a client or whether it's directly with an individual.”

UST STEP IT UP

set is and build into the training exactly what the person needs to be successful in that role.”

It is widely recognised that there is a shortage of women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) roles, which many people see as the key to innovation and job creation. In the US, only 28% of STEM jobs are held by women.

In some of the most sought-after skill sets and fastest-growing areas, that proportion is even less.

Encouraging women to look at careers in technology through initiatives like Step IT Up can help address this gender imbalance.

It’s something DePutron has personal experience of too.

“ YES, IT'S HARD TO GET INTO TECH, BUT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAN GIVE YOU THE TOOLS AND THE KNOWLEDGE TO GET THERE” OLWYN DEPUTRON

DIRECTOR OF THE STEP IT UP PROGRAMME, UST www.ust.com

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1999 Year founded

28,000+ Employees globally

“I have a sister who has been in investment banking technology throughout her working career. I remember as we were growing up, no one in my family was in tech. I don't even know how she found that career within technology,” she says.

“But as she moved up in her career, she was able to connect with folks who told her more about the potential of a career in technology and Step IT Up is doing that as well.

“Yes, it's hard to get into tech, but there are opportunities to give you the tools and the knowledge to get there.”

One way UST promotes STEM careers is to work with women in technology events and programmes specifically for women – such as a bank in Atlanta that put 21 women through a specialist RPA training programme.

The bank was previously outsourcing this work to an offshore company but 20 of the 10

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women graduated and were placed in their roles within 6 months to take this over.

“We had an individual that was part of the training who interviewed a year before,” recalls DePutron. “She didn't get a seat, but she heard about this again, went through the interviews, got selected, and showed her persistence. She wanted to get a technology career and she was able to get a full-time position – all this while also having a baby.”

“ IT SHOWS THAT THEY ARE VALUED, IT SHOWS THAT THEY CAN DO IT, AND THAT'S THE HAPPIEST, PROUDEST TIME FOR ME” OLWYN DEPUTRON

DIRECTOR OF THE STEP IT UP PROGRAMME, UST

UST STEP IT UP

UST STEP IT UP SELECTION PROCESS “First off, we take our clients' requirements – what they're looking for. Usually, it's a four-year degree in any field. The first step is for them to take an assessment test that measures reading, math and analytics. We look for a 70% score and everyone who achieves that will be interviewed.

We do a two-part interview – it's a round table discussion with everyone in the room, so everyone on the client side and UST and the candidates are in the room, whether it's virtual or physical.

We ask simple questions to hear how they collaborate as a group, how they're present themselves, and their communication. We then move to one-on-one interviews.

If you have some tech experience, that's great. That's not what we're looking for, because we're going to train you in that. We're looking for your desire to build a career in technology.

If you have passion, we can teach you anything. But if you're missing the desire, then that might be hard for you to proceed through training.

The clients are involved, so they can select or see personalities that are a good fit for their organisation.

Once folks are chosen, they get an offer letter, and they move on to the training.

Now the training is rigorous, it's eight hours a day, Monday through Friday.

Typically, it's four to seven months.

Through the training, students are required to keep a 70% average. Some clients require 80%.

We work on soft skills, so you see that some folks who would not talk too much in the beginning are the ones that are giving the graduation speech.

That's another win for UST Step IT Up. For every interview seat available, we have at least 10 applicants. We have a 90% pass rate. Surprisingly during the COVID period, that rate went higher. We've had classes that were 100% graduated, so it's a good programme.

After they graduate, they are placed on-site for about a year with the client, but they're a full-time employee of UST. During this time, the client has a chance to see their work. From those working on-site with a client, 87% get a direct offer. I think those stats are really strong actually and it shows that you're clearly doing something right in the selection process.”

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“ THE GOOD THING ABOUT STEP IT UP IS THAT IT'S CUSTOM FOCUSED IN SPECIFIC SKILL SETS” OLWYN DEPUTRON

DIRECTOR OF THE STEP IT UP PROGRAMME, UST

"Step IT Up America Programme helped me to find my passion" – Rekina

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It’s important to note here that Step IT Up pays for the education – the equivalent of a college degree – as well as paying the candidates throughout their training. Candidates pay nothing, and the organisations who eventually benefit also pay nothing for being provided with skilled, in-demand workers. So what does UST get out of this?

“First of all, it's a good feeling helping someone else and giving back to the community,” says DePutron. “I think that's the main reason – they have the assets and the training experience. In all honesty, they like to do it. UST likes to give back to

the community – you're making a change in someone, and we all have a part to play in that change.”

DePutron is clearly proud of the work UST and the Step IT Up programme achieve, and she admits she loves to see the look on students’ faces when they graduate, when that person gets a job offer from the client, that completes the circle.

“It shows that they are valued and that they can do it, and that's the happiest, proudest time for me.”

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