How Generation.org Enhanced Their Biz Dev Team’s Tech Skills with TechMap Training
Discover how Generation.org, a global nonprofit, enhanced their business development team’s tech skills through the TechMap training program. Learn how investing in technology education empowered their team to forge meaningful connections with tech employers and support underrepresented communities.
Valeria Pizzi
Global Program Implementation Lead
Generation is a global nonprofit that believes in the power of employment to change lives. They drive economic mobility for people by preparing, placing, and supporting people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible in 17 countries around the world.
Generation provides job seekers with short, intensive training in all the skills they need to be successful and supportive mentoring throughout the program and beyond. In addition, Generation’s business development teams work with employers to identify talent needs and line up interviews so that graduates can rapidly enter the workforce when they complete Generation’s program. To date, Generation has 75,000 graduates. Ninety percent of Generation learners are unemployed when they enter the program, and within three months, 81% are placed into employment. Collectively, they have earned more than $630 million in salaries.
We’ve loved working with Generation since creating TechMap. With their ambition to serve hundreds of thousands — and eventually millions — of people who are unemployed, underemployed, or need to learn new skills, we felt it was very aligned with our vision.
We’re discussing with Bonni Therault, Chief Partnerships Officer and Valeria Pizzi, Global Employer Engagement Lead
What’s your role and where does TechMap come in the picture?
Bonni: As the Chief Partnerships Officer at Generation, my main goal is to ensure that we are able to place as many people from underrepresented communities into life-changing careers as possible. One of the key industries that we focus on is technology, as it offers a wide range of opportunities and high earning potential.
However, in order to be successful talking to hiring employers in this field, it is essential for our business development team to have a deep understanding of the technology landscape. Our team doesn’t all come from a strong technical background and this is where TechMap comes in.
TechMap is a course designed to help business development people and other professionals master technology and business development. They take our team of business development people (and curriculum designers), and through the online platform and some live workshops, ensure our team can positively interact with CTOs and other technical decision makers.
“This was a brilliantly structured programme that took us step-by-step through the tech stack, the software developer life cycle, roles within tech and how they interact with each other, and much more. With a visual map of modules, interactive learning, and lots of productive group activities, this course provides a great overview of tech and has really built my knowledge in order to understand and address clients’ tech recruitment and skills needs.”
— Jess Sewter, Partnerships Director: Leeds & West Midlands at Generation UK
How did you measure success of the programmes?
Bonni: We wanted to be sure from the outset that we were investing in a course with a direct ROI. Being data-driven is also in our DNA at Generation, and we worked alongside the TechMap team to make sure we would collect both quantitative and qualitative data.
The TechMap team did some pre- and post-course surveys and interviews with our staff. They then continued doing the same between the first and the second cohort. Here below is a snapshot of the kind of data we got.
It was clear from the first cohort, and even clearer from the second cohort onwards, that investing learning & development budget for our team in TechMap had a positive impact on their knowledge of tech, specifically in the context of their role, which is about securing partnerships with tech employers and placing people into life-changing careers.
The self-led learning platform and live workshops have provided the flexibility and practical application that our team members need to excel in their roles. We highly recommend it to any organization looking to build a strong and successful business development team in the technology industry.
“I took this course because I needed an overall view of the main tech concepts, and it turned out to be very useful. The course gives you a broad and comprehensive view of technology to build a strong tech foundation. Besides, the content is presented in an innovative, clear, and easy-to-follow way. Highly recommended!
— Mariola Diez Martinez, Curriculum and Instruction Lead at Generation Spain