All Together For Good
Here at the Alliance for SoCal Innovation, we are fortunate to work closely with a number of leading corporations in the SoCal region who are aligned and committed to elevating the region as a global center for innovation and entrepreneurship. It’s a credit to many of these companies that they continue to lead through action during these difficult times marked by pandemic, social upheaval over civil injustice, economic recession and record unemployment. One such example is the data automation juggernaut Alteryx, based in Orange County.
In response to the already existing data analyst shortage combined with the massive disruption in general employment caused by the pandemic, Alteryx stepped up in a big way. On May 7, 2020, they launched a new program called Advancing Data and Analytics Potential Together (ADAPT). ADAPT became the newest pillar of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative, Alteryx for Good.
The Adapt program offers free data training to thousands of workers globally who have found themselves unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every graduate is certified in the fundamentals of data analytics through Alteryx Core Certification and is given the opportunity to advance to the Udacity Nanodegree program in predictive analytics. This program is part of a broader drive to expand data literacy, upskill workers adversely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and educate a new wave of citizen data scientists to thrive in the data economy.
“There is a heightened demand right now for educated data workers, as COVID-19 has shown us that businesses across every industry and vertical need to embed data analytics throughout their organizations,” said Dean Stoecker, co-founder and CEO of Alteryx. “We’ve long believed in the importance of training citizen data scientists, and with the ADAPT program, we’re empowering those in need of employment with a valuable skillset that companies need now more than ever before.”
Since its launch, the ADAPT program has received more than 10,000 registrations across 130 countries, including 711 registrations from California alone. Of the total registrants, more than 320 have passed the Core Certification and more than 300 have enrolled in Udacity. As of August 3, 2020, 35 people have completed the ADAPT program and are considered graduates.
The key online learning modules include creating a dataset, classification models, A/B testing, time series and segmentation. The curriculum is delivered as a 125-hour bootcamp and the time to complete varies depending on the student’s schedule and availability.
The program is inclusive for both analytics beginners and professionals and is beneficial even before completion. Leeia Isabelle heard about ADAPT in a Facebook group for Black women in technology, and she signed up for the program. With a compelling fascination, but no formal certification in data, Leeia has already found value in the program. “I had all of these skills. But I had no clear way of showing what I was capable of, so I struggled,” Leeia says. “With certifications like this, I can have a clear statement saying, ‘This is exactly what I can do, and these people have verified it.’” Further, she found herself immediately more employable, “the minute that I put [on LinkedIn] that I’m going into data science training, recruiters started calling me. People started asking, ‘Do you want a job?’”
And that’s what it’s all about. Innovative companies like Alteryx make the Southern California region stand out not only as a leading technological hub, but one uniquely positioned to be a pillar for good. The Alliance is proud of the fearless innovators this region nurtures. We know that, together, we will do more than persist. We believe, together, we will get through this moment in history as a more vibrant, more inclusive and more connected world.