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Despite our current economic downturn, Rackspace, a San Antonio-based company in global web hosting for Information Technology Services, seeks to add 4,000 new jobs statewide with average annual salaries of $56,000 by 2012.
In 1998, graduates of Trinity University founded Rackspace. A company press release written in November 2008 said about 1,500 employees known as Rackers are headquartered at the former Windsor Park Mall and in a building on Datapoint Drive; the Alamo Colleges now provide high-tech training for current Rackspace employees, thanks to a Texas Workforce Commission’s Skills Development Fund grant.
“Rackspace provides global high tech data services in an age where information is king, and this partnership gives us another opportunity to show the world what we have to offer,” said Aaron Ellis, an Information Technology Program Manager in the Continuing Education Department of Palo Alto College.
To train Rackspace’s workforce, a $4.7-million grant was received by the Alamo Colleges. The purpose of the grant is to purchase hardware and software while developing the curriculum they need.
According to the Alamo Colleges’ Weekly News in December of 2008, the training will provide certification in Comptia A+, Microsoft MCSA/MCSE (System Administrator/Engineer), Cisco CCNA, CCSP (Network Administrator/Security Professional), Oracle, Sun Java, CommVault, MySQL and other in-demand programs to Rackspace employees.
Through 2012, classes will be provided to Rackspace employees at Northeast Lakeview College, which is located close to Rackspace’s headquarters.
It is hoped that the infrastructure set in place to provide classes for Rackspace employees will enable the District to offer classes to those who would like to work at Rackspace or other high-tech companies.
The knowledge and skill sets are customized for Rackspace’s operations. This allows Rackspace to provide direct guidance on the industry’s importance to the company, and companies engaged in similar activities.
High-tech certification training provided so far by Palo Alto instructors is CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network Plus. This first-ever training for Rackspace employees was in December 2008 by instructors of PAC who travel to NLC.
The grant will provide training in CompTIA, Cisco, Microsoft as well as numerous high-level certifications that provide advanced high-tech training.
Rackspace class hours fluctuate from week-to-week and month-to-month, depending upon their needs. The boot-camp style classes are aimed to fit the Rackspace employees’ schedules, with early morning, evening and late-night classes.
Over the next four years, Alamo Colleges will participate in this high-tech certification training, using state-of-the-art Information Technology equipment purchased with the grant money.
A variety of jobs are in demand at Rackspace, including positions for Project Manager, Database Administrator, Information Technology, Software Engineer, Software Quality Assurance, Web Designer, Web Developer, and Network Engineer.
Tod Bruning, Alamo College Project Coordinator, is in charge of developing this partnership for the high-tech training. Contact Bruning at tbruning1@mail.accd.edu or (210) 486-3412 for more information. For information on Rackspace, visit www.rackspace.com.