Leeds-based 6point6 Cloud Gateway , a developer of Agile Networking and hybrid cloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) start-up, has uncovered a rich new source of skilled, highly motivated staff, in the form of ex-military personnel re-skilled through AWS re:Start, a training and job placement programme, launched by Amazon Web Services, to educate 1,000 young adults, military veterans, reservists, and their spouses, on the latest software development and cloud computing technologies.
The company, which only opened a Leeds office in August, has already gained its first new recruit there, 41 year old Intelligence Corps veteran Stewart Yapp. Stewart recently completed the Manchester-based AWS re:Start course and is now employed as a DevOps Engineer.
Stewart said: "After 13 years in the Intelligence Corps I was well-used to using IT, but like most people I had little experience of its nuts and bolts or building it. The Army helped me find the AWS re:Start programme, which was free to me and to every other Armed Forces veteran, and taught me about IT in the corporate world. It's a real boost to me, and to every veteran, to find that the skills I already have from serving, can be enhanced with new training to open up a whole new career for me."
Neil Briscoe, 6point6 Cloud Gateway co-founder and CTO, said: "Long-term veterans typically come with a full range of life skills: work ethic, self-organisation, thinking on their feet, adaptability and focus on delivery. That alone makes them super-attractive to companies like 6point6 Cloud Gateway. We can always teach someone new technical skills, but only to a person who wants and knows how to learn and apply themselves. That they've come through the AWS re:Start programme is even more of a bonus: we know they're committed to a new career in IT, they've already learned at least the basics, and they're ready to go. We are already on the lookout for more like Stewart.
"The AWS re:Start programme is a tremendous initiative and it's a terrific opportunity for any company in the UK, especially the North West of England, that needs technology skills. The region has long provided a high proportion of those men and women that join the UK's Armed Forces, and when their service ends many of them naturally want to return to somewhere near their original home," he added.
AWS re:Start is a training and job placement programme, launched by Amazon Web Services, for the UK to educate young adults as well as military veterans, reservists, and their spouses, on the latest software development and cloud computing technologies.
6point6 Cloud Gateway is part of the 6point6 family. 6point6 provides business solutions underpinned with cutting-edge technology and agile delivery methods. It enjoys a strong reputation across the government, financial services and media sectors, providing both strategic IT advice and project delivery. It has a total workforce of around 100 staff. In Cloud Gateway and across the wider 6point6 Group, approximately 6% of the workforce is made up of ex-Military from across the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force.
Headquartered in Pall Mall, London, 6point6's North England office is located at Wellington Place, Leeds.
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