BARR Participates in “Future of Work: Micro-credentials and Apprenticeships” Panel

On March 31, 2021, BARR’s founder and president, Brad Thies, participated in a “Future of Work: Micro-credentials” panel discussion led by Alan Krause, vice president at SnapIT Solutions. Other panelists included Erin Christensen, Apprenti program manager for KC Tech Council, Jessica Cassidy, corporate recruiter with Fishtech Group, and Jeff Bennett, senior account executive at Pega.

The panel was part of the #FutureofWork Summit, with the focus on discussing education pathways, corporate strategic hiring, and mentorships, along with how companies can embrace apprenticeship opportunities, like Apprenti, and other types of micro-credentials to fill job positions. 

“An apprenticeship is an opportunity for us to bring non-degree professionals into the IT space,” said Christensen. “There are plenty of IT jobs out there, and colleges aren’t putting out enough graduates to fill those positions.”

Christensen spoke about the Apprenti program, read more about BARR’s participation in that here, and how it can help fill this gap.

Thies then shared his reasoning behind bringing BARR in as a hiring company for Apprenti, as well as his experience with it thus far.

“BARR’s hiring process starts with our values and understanding how candidates align with that,” he said. “There are different paths to the same outcome—the traditional educational institution is one path, but it doesn’t have to be the only path.”

In fact, BARR got rid of the college degree requirement on its job applications.

“That’s not to diminish a higher education experience, it’s just about widening the net and deepening the pool of candidates in order to create a more diverse set of ideas,” said Thies. “Life experience goes a long way. We’re hoping to be part of the solution.”

Learn more by watching the full video or contacting us.