Start this process while you are transitioning and still on active duty.

The NC-Expert Apprenticeship Approach

NC-Expert Perspective

The executives at NC-Expert have been working in this industry as engineers, architects, executives, trainers and advisors directly to vendors such as Cisco, CWNP, EC Council, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, UBS and many others in addition to being veterans themselves for over 25 years. Collectively we have over 200 years of experience in modern cutting edge technologies and approaches.

We focus on providing bleeding edge training to thousands of corporations daily and regularly write and design the courses that Cisco and other large vendors use. In addition, we are regularly called upon to develop internal programs where we “train Cisco on how to sell, design and deploy Cisco”. They trust us to write the courses and to train their internal employees so we feel we have a unique perspective on the state of the market.

Based on our unique perspective, expertise and experience we wouldn’t recommend veterans pursue the very low level certifications and skills associated with CompTIA A+, Microsoft, Network+, Cisco CCNA Routing & Switching or other such certifications that are in low demand but high concentrations within the market. We are not saying that the skills learned in these programs are obsolete, we are simply saying that alone they will not create the opportunity or return on investment we feel is needed to get the veterans off to a good start.

Go with a Program that Produces a Return on Investment

NC-Expert believes all training should produce a definitive return on investment (ROI) and we have created our model assuming a 32-month, multi-part program costing roughly $55,000. The skills and certifications chosen are designed to create the skillsets that are normally compensated

in the $70,000-$150,000 salary range with a ten-year ROI of potentially >$1 Million in salary for the $55,000 investment.

We seek out and qualify program nominees based on a wide range of factors that align directly with DOL requirements as well as the criteria we find corporations actively search for. Our vast network of corporate executives, hiring managers and recruiters consult with us regularly to make sure we are identifying both the hard IT skills as well as the soft skills needed for the transitioning veteran.

So we had multiple people even outside our team scrutinize our program to ensure we only include training from companies that are leading in their respective markets and hiring managers that were investing corporate money in the classes we included already to better their existing teams. We had a simple goal: we want our vets to be the envy of the team they are joining because they are getting the training they want but haven’t been able to get funding for.

NC-Expert IT Apprenticeship Program Flow 10

Getting the Veteran Hired

Our unique position within the IT industry and market allows us to leverage existing and new relationships with companies looking to hire veterans and IT workers with the skills we provide in the program. NC-Expert will find, screen and enroll the veteran into the apprenticeship program. During this process we will partner with a local employer and negotiate a salary for the veteran. NC-Expert will enter into an Apprenticeship Employment Agreement with this company that will outline requirements and conditions of hiring a veteran as an apprentice. The agreement between NC-Expert and the company will include available paid time to complete the training along with a structured plan for interaction to ensure the OJT competencies are jointly addressed. Areas that are typically included in the employee’s job role such as workplace safety will be executed by the company and verified and signed off by NC-Expert.

Other areas that are included in the OJT Apprenticeship program but are not normally part of the company’s training will be provided by NC-Expert. Regular meetings with the veteran’s supervisors and management team will be conducted to ensure the veteran is progressing through the apprenticeship, the veteran is being provided ample opportunity to exercise their skills and grow their experience and lastly to ensure the company is happy with the veteran as a contributing member of their team.

At the completion of the program NC-Expert will work with the company and the veteran to help secure an ongoing full time position with the company and will transition the graduating veteran from the apprenticeship program. This opens the doors for many more opportunities for both veterans and companies alike to participate in the IT Apprenticeship programs without the headache of the administration of the program.

Gaining Government Approval Veteran

Our approach of acting as a Managing Entity, an IT Training Company and a Content Provider ensures we have relationships within the DOL and Veteran Affairs offices. NC-Expert’s prepackaged applications ensure the process is streamlined and executed consistently for all veterans. This single point of contact ensures all parties involved will be able to progress through the process in a more efficient and timely matter. We feel that for the program to be successful we need to remove the headache for the two parties with the most to lose or gain through the apprenticeship; the veteran and the hiring company.

Training the Veteran

NC-Expert was established as a strategic authorized learning partner for Cisco, CWNP and ECCouncil. We also provide authorized CompTIA training through a strategic relationship. This is a vast difference from many of the other companies and colleges that typically provide veteran funded IT certification training. Many of these companies use on staff instructors to write non authorized versions of the certifications. The apprenticeship program was created to ensure participants would gain the latest and greatest training from the vendor.

Choosing a provider that presents their own version creates a situation where the participant may not be getting the best or most updated version. As a strategic partner to the vendors we not only provide their most current authorized and endorsed content we are often the company that develops and writes the content for the vendors either under our own name or that of one of our partners. In addition to this, our executives have maintained longstanding relationships with the execs at these vendors and many of their internal engineers that create the very products represented in the training. We are occasionally privileged to inspect technologies prior to them being released. As part of this we are the go-to partner to train these vendors’ entire engineering, sales and executive staffs on their own products as they are going to market.

In short, with our program the veteran is learning directly from the source. Classes are taught by seasoned instructors, we choose the individuals that are at the top of their careers, most have achieved numerous Cisco CCIE expert designations in multiple fields. We do not use instructors that are at the same level as those graduating from the apprenticeship program. Typically, our instructors have 10-20 years not only in the field but as top level engineers and architects responsible for very large enterprise environments. Several have designed some of the largest networking environments in the industry.

All our classes are delivered as live instruction. We offer both an in-person attendance option as well as a virtual attendance option. At no point will the veteran be left to learn on his own with second rate videos. They will always have the ability to ask questions and be taught by someone that has first-hand knowledge of the topic. The virtual attendance option is executed via cutting edge video conferencing which allows live, full interaction of both instruction and the all too valuable hands-on lab exercises that accompany most of our courses. The only thing missing is the extra costs associated with travel. Additional webinar events are offered multiple times each month on topics that are typically harder to learn and leverage the same virtual attendance platform. These allow the veteran to pack in even more training during after-hours.In add ition, we extend our practice of group and individual mentoring with all apprenticeships. This prevents the veteran from ever getting into a situation while learning where they get stuck without having someone to explain the topic. We know from years of experience that no one comprehends every topic and our enhanced program gives the veteran the extra help on those topics that are proving more difficult to grasp.

We also know the certification process itself is a daunting task so we offer workshops on test taking techniques and study habits to aid in this aspect as well.

Details of the Program

Industry Certifications Earned During the Apprenticeship

Wireless Technology Specialty Tract

Cisco CCNA Routing & Switching

Cisco CCNA Wireless

CWNPs CWNA

CompTIA Security+

Cisco CCNA Cloud

Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity

EC Council CND

CWNPs CWDP

CWNPs CWSP

CWNPs CWAP

Cisco CCNP Wireless

PMP

Data Center Technology Specialty Tract

Cisco CCNA Routing & Switching

Cisco CCNA Wireless

CWNPs CWNA

CompTIA Security+

Cisco CCNA Cloud

Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity

EC Council CND

Cisco CCNA Data Center

Cisco CCNP Data Center

Cisco Network Programmability Design and Implementation Specialist

VMware VCP

PMP

Security Technology Specialty Tract

Cisco CCNA Routing & Switching

Cisco CCNA Wireless

CWNPs CWNA

CompTIA Security+

Cisco CCNA Cloud

Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity

EC Council CND

Cisco CCNA Security

Cisco CCNP Security

CISSP

EC Council CEH

PMP

ALL Courses are Authorized Official Courses

Ready to Get Started?

The first step is to fill out our online application, we collect needed information to determine the feasibility and fit for you in the program. This step is not a formal application into the program it simply helps us help you determine if this is something that you would both be interested in and be successful in. We don’t want any veteran to hear anything from us other than the straight story both good and bad. Once we all feel everything is in place we move to the second step.

The second step is identifying a company and position in your area and fine tuning your resume and interview skills. We then approach the company hiring manager directly and sell them on the benefits of considering you and the apprenticeship program. It’s important for you to know that we offer them discounts on training for the rest of the team and other perks to help entice them to consider you.

You would then go through an interview process with the company, likely we will have you doing this with multiple companies to give you the most opportunity as possible. While this is happening we will be working with you and your local DOL and VA offices to get all of the forms completed to enroll you on that side as well. Once both pieces are complete you will have a scheduled start date for your new job.

From that point on the communication will be constant between NC-Expert, your new employer and yourself. We will start scheduling you right away for training and you will be on your way to a new career.

To get started type the following URL in your Internet browser and fill out the form, once we receive your information our team will do some basic research on your background from the resume and information you submit and we will explore the job market in your target area. Once we have a good picture we will reach out to you to have a detailed discussion where you can ask any questions you may have about the program or process.

You do NOT need to wait until you separate. We can start this process while you are transitioning and still on active duty.

www.nc-expert.com/veteran-apprenticeship