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published on March 23, 2023 - 2:31 PM
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Fresno City College this week announced its participation in the SOFT START: IT-Cybersecurity Workforce Education program, which includes $2.4 million in funds from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to create a partnership between Fresno City College, Fresno State and the Fresno County Library for basic digital skills and digital literacy training.

The goal of the program is to provide a “soft start” training program in the tech field to students and residents in low-income anchor communities.

“There are many unfilled jobs in the tech sector because finding individuals with stronger foundational technical skills is a real challenge,” said Dr. Timothy Woods, dean of the business division. “This program has been designated to reduce barriers that stand between individuals and higher-wage careers.”

Fresno City College will lead a team of faculty to develop and teach SOFT START Boot Camp curriculum and materials, as well as certificates for digital literacy and cyber technician specialist course graduates.

Fresno State will work to develop courses that build upon the skills learned in Fresno City’s courses, aiming to create pathways to further education and/or career employment.

The Open Educational Resources incentive aims to reduce financial burdens within the program.

Courses for the program will be offered to communities through a partnership with the Fresno County Public Library.

Participants will also be trained to find specific job opportunities and job application skills.

“Our goal is to offer no cost training for a wide variety of individuals ranging from little to no computer experience to those who have technical skills but lack key career planning and certificates,” Woods added.

Certificate programs will be introduced in fall 2024 and include:

  • Fresno Soft-Start Digital Skills (Fresno County Library and Fresno City College)
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  • Digital and Information Literacy (Fresno County Library and Fresno City College)
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  • Introduction to Digital Literacy (Fresno City College)
    • BT 377: Getting Started with Computers and Workplace Technology
    • BT 379: Introduction to Microsoft Office Applications
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  • Cyber Technician (Fresno City College)
    • CIT 48a: IT+ Fundamentals
    • CIT 48b: A+ and Security Principles
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  • Cybersecurity (Basic, Intermediate Advanced) (Fresno State)


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