With Woz U, Steve Wozniak hopes to train a new generation of tech workers for high-paying jobs.
It’s hard to imagine a world without tech behemoth Apple in it, but when Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded the company in 1976, the personal computer was rare. With the creation of the Apple I, and the more advanced Apple II model, Wozniak helped to revolutionize the tech computing industry and pave the way for innovations like laptops, smartphones, and high-tech gaming systems. Now, Wozniak is hoping to transform the industry once again by training a generation of workers for high-paying jobs.
Recently, Wozniak announced he was launching Woz U, an online educational institute that aims to train students and connect them to companies looking for high-skilled workers. And with more than 600,000 unfilled jobs in the tech industry, Wozniak’s goal to “get people into the workforce quickly and affordably” could be a game-changer.
“Our goal is to educate and train people in employable digital skills without putting them into years of debt,” the innovator said in a press release announcing Woz U’s launch. “People often are afraid to choose a technology-based career because they think they can’t do it. I know they can, and I want to show them how.”
For now, Woz U’s curriculum lets students choose between two tracks: computer support specialists and software developers. As the program grows, Woz U plans to add courses on data science, mobile applications, and cybersecurity. Though the institute is currently online, Woz U also plans to establish academies that offer rigorous one-on-one training, roll out a K-12 STEAM curriculum for schools, and offer an enterprise program that helps companies train — or retrain — their workforce.
While the technology pioneer could focus his attention on a plethora of issues, Wozniak’s passion for education pushed him to create Woz U.
“My entire life I have worked to build, develop, and create a better world through technology, and I have always respected education,” Wozniak said. “Now is the time for Woz U, and we are only getting started.”
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