Apple co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak is launching an education group in Arizona that hopes to train new technology workers in an affordable and speedy manner.
Wozniak’s group, Woz U, will initially have programs focused on training computer support specialists and software developers. The group will eventually add programs for data science, mobile applications and cyber security students.
Woz U hopes to widen the technology workforce in Arizona and across the nation by training students with digital skills that will help them find jobs.
The Scottsdale-based education group plans to partner with businesses to help with tech talent needs, while also connecting with local school districts to get students interested in a career in tech.
Woz U will work to train these technology workers without putting its students into debt too, Wozniak said at a Thursday evening announcement in Paradise Valley.
Woz U bills itself as “education reprogrammed,” a new form of higher education that’s catered towards the technology industry.
Woz U will create an accelerator program that will identify and develop elite talent.
Woz U also wants to make sure its students learn tech skills that are a match for them. The group created a mobile app that will help potential students find their niche within the vast world of technology.
“People often are afraid to choose a technology-based career because they think they can’t do it,” Wozniak said in a statement before his announcement. “I know they can, and I want to show them how.”
One of Woz U’s programs plans to work with technology companies to recruit and train a workforce through a subscription-based curriculum. There will also be opportunities for companies to have on-site customized programs from Woz U.
Another program will focus on providing K-12 STEAM, or sciences technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, to school districts. The programs will try to guide young students towards a career in technology.
