Digital training helps APJ realize full potential of AWS Cloud

New interactive, hands-on training resources aim to deepen digital skills for individuals and organizations

Editor’s note: In this post, Andrew Sklar, the director of AWS Training and Certification sales and delivery in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), shares his insights on the role training is playing on current cloud adoption trends in the region and news of our latest offering, AWS Skill Builder Individual and Team subscriptions.

Digital transformation across the APJ region is happening at an unprecedented speed. Gartner predicts global public cloud spending will grow from $396 billion to $482 billion in 2022, a rate of 22% this year alone. However, there is simply not enough skilled talent to address this urgent need and help us to keep up with the pace of innovation.

We talk with customers every day who tell us that their primary obstacle to adopting the cloud is the lack of trained IT professionals. We wanted to better understand the current skills gap, and the opportunity for individuals and organizations to invest in digital skills training. Recent research we commissioned from AlphaBeta, found an estimated 86 million more workers (14% of the workforce) need to be trained over the next year across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea combined, to keep pace with technological advancements. It’s a major challenge for crucial industries in APJ like manufacturing where 92% of workers say they need more digital skills to cope with changes in their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 86% of workers in the trade industry agree.

Cloud training for everyone – to accelerate digital transformation

Our team has been collaborating closely with industry and government for many years to deliver vital cloud training for our customers in APJ to help close the cloud skills gap. While digital skills training is essential for tech-related roles, new insights released today from the AlphaBeta research revealed that workers in non-tech roles who upgrade their digital skills also benefit. Specifically, they gained greater efficiency (said 88%), increased promotion opportunities (said 62%), and improved employability (said 76%). It’s a win-win for employers, who benefit from a more productive workforce and workers, who can move forward confidently embracing the digitization of their jobs.

We’re addressing this challenge in many ways, and proud to say that AWS has trained over 3.5 million individuals across the APJ region with cloud skills since 2017. For enterprise organizations, AWS Skills Guild is enabling retailers like Kmart in Australia and Globe Telecom in the Philippines to upskill their IT staff, resulting in operational improvements and outstanding growth. In communities across Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and more, AWS re/Start is preparing people with little or no technology experience for entry level jobs in cloud computing, giving them and their families a bright future. And for even younger aspiring cloud learners, we offer AWS Educate, among other programs, giving learners as young as 13 in more than 200 countries and territories access to hundreds of hours of self-paced cloud training resources, including hands-on labs.

This training is critical for workers’ career progression and for organizations to accelerate digitization in APJ. We want to make it easy for anyone with a desire to learn about cloud computing to access the tools to make that happen—whether they are totally new to the cloud computing industry or experienced professionals looking to advance their skills.

Introducing AWS Skill Builder subscriptions

To continue supporting digital transformation in the APJ region – and to ensure workers in technical roles as well as those in non-tech roles, have the in-demand cloud skills employers need, we’re excited to share we have launched AWS Skill Builder Individual and Team subscriptions. The subscriptions offer an entirely new way for individuals, customers, and AWS Partners to learn with flexible, scalable, and highly-interactive digital cloud skills training and AWS Certification preparation, allowing them to develop cloud skills wherever and whenever they need.

The new subscriptions build upon our existing Skill Builder library of 500+ free, self-paced, digital courses and provide access to a range of exclusive content to advance cloud skills and prepare for AWS Certification exams, enabling learners and organizations to accelerate innovation.

For example, Singapore-headquartered online fashion retailer, Zalora, is accelerating its cloud transformation at scale by providing their teams with a unique set of practical, real-world learning experiences to deepen their cloud expertise. Zalora has told us that AWS Training and Certification’s self-paced, on-demand classes are giving their teams flexibility as they work towards AWS Certifications.

Individual subscription is available in more than 200 countries and territories, in up to 12 languages, including English, Bahasa Indonesian, Japanese, and Korean.

Team subscription is available for purchase in 17 countries including Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea.

There are four new and engaging learning experiences available within both Skill Builder Individual and Team subscription:

AWS Builder Labs: With more than 100 labs to choose from, learners develop practical skills in common cloud scenarios with hands-on, guided exercises in a live AWS environment, without risk of disruptions or unanticipated expenses.

AWS Cloud Quest: Launched in March 2022, Cloud Quest is a role-based game where the player’s mission is to help citizens of a virtual city by learning and building cloud solutions for their challenges. As the player completes assigned tasks, they learn AWS services and earn rewards that help transform the city. In addition to the already-available Cloud Practitioner role, the subscription includes three new roles: Solutions Architect, Serverless Developer, and Machine Learning Specialist.

AWS Jam Journey: This gamified offering provides self-paced learning with open-ended, real-world challenges with no step-by-step instructions, just hints. Today, Jam Journey offers 10 challenges focused on security, with more challenges in other areas coming soon. (The Team subscription also includes AWS Jam events, during which groups compete against each other in 140+ challenges.)

AWS Certification exam preparation: New AWS Certification Official Practice Exams are full-length practice exams to evaluate exam readiness, with the same style, depth, rigor, and scoring as our AWS Certification exams. Comprehensive feedback also is available for each question. Exam preparation courses include a review of technical content, practice questions, and lab exercises. Full-length practice exams and exam preparation courses are currently available for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, and AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate certifications, with more to come.

Check out our new Skill Builder subscriptions video to get a sense for each of these training options.

Additional administrator functionality in Team subscription

Team subscription includes all the features of Individual subscription, and is designed for organizations that want to train 50 or more people. There is a tiered pricing model, depending on the number of seats needed. Administrator functionality allows leaders to assign training to individuals to drive targeted skills development in their team, and track progress. Built-in reports show course enrollment, course progress, completion rates, and more.

Getting started

The APJ region has become the growth engine of the world and our future is in the cloud! That’s why our team is committed to helping countries across APJ boost their digital capacity. Taking that first step to learn new digital skills in the face of a global digital skills shortage is mission critical. We’re excited to see a new generation of tech and non-tech professionals acquiring AWS cloud skills across APJ. AWS Skill Builder Individual and Team subscriptions are new powerful solutions that can help catapult your learning journey to new heights. There is no better time to build your future in cloud.

Learn more about the AWS Skill Builder Individual and Team subscription today!

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