Banking

Cap One Bank helps meet local demand for software developers

Bank grants 18K to SLCC for program recruitment, certifications and programming devices for hands-on skill development.

South Louisiana Community College

Capital One Bank is investing $18,000 in South Louisiana Community College's application software development program. The bank's funds will be used for program recruitment, certifications and programming devices for hands-on skill development, according to a press release from the college.

The two-year associate’s degree program at SLCC began in 2014 and gives students skills in application development, game development, and computer programming. Courses are focused on teaching various programming languages such as Java, Python, and C++, as well as languages like HTML that build websites.

“With more than 23,000 software jobs being created in Acadiana by 2030, this program meets the growing and critical demand for entry-level application software developers in the workforce,” Sam Harb, SLCC dean of business, IT and professional studies, said in the release. “With companies like CGI, Perficient, and Enquero coming into Lafayette and bringing immediate, well-paying jobs, the benefits of this program are endless.”

The median annual wage for these developers is $63,000, making this a high-wage, high-demand program.

The Capital One grant will provide three-fold funding: marketing dollars to recruit students interested in IT-related fields to the new program; JAVA certifications for up to the first three cohorts of Application Software Development students; and Android devices for student developers to write, test and deploy applications into the target platform environment.