REDDING, Calif.—In an effort to bridge the skills gap for in-demand tech jobs, Simpson University has formed a strategic partnership with Bethel School of Technology, a faith-based coding boot camp that teaches full-stack web development and data science. The partnership will allow students to learn immediately applicable skills online or in-person to enter the workforce as junior software developers and complete their degrees at Simpson while working.

“The Bethel Tech team understands the evolving educational landscape as well as the intellectual and technical skills needed for modern youth and second-career adults,” said Dr. Hall, president of Simpson University. “We hope our new alliance will spark other colleges and universities to look for unique solutions via cooperation with industry, ministry, and entrepreneurs. The success we are already seeing signals a new day in higher education.”

The U.S. has more than 500,000 open computing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Department of Labor projects the number will rise to 1 million by 2020. According to Course Report, the average starting salary for a software developer is $70,000, and U.S News and World Report ranked “software developer” as the top job in 2019.

“We believe the future of education should align with the future of work, and companies in all industries are in need of quality tech talent,” Bethel Tech’s CEO Ryan Collins said. “Additionally, companies are looking for technologists with high character, and our partnership with Simpson is a perfect blend of teaching both skill and character.”

Bethel Tech’s program transfers as 15 credits towards an associate or bachelor’s degree at Simpson, and students may be eligible to utilize Title IV funding as part of the partnership. Simpson has designated classroom space on its campus for a 12-week in-person program, estimated to start within the next year. The 33-week online Simpson-Bethel Tech program started in January 2019.

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About Simpson University

Simpson University is a Christian university offering undergraduate, graduate, and teaching credential programs. The university moved to Redding from San Francisco 30 years ago and will celebrate its centennial in 2021. In addition to offering 25 majors in its traditional undergraduate program, the university has graduated almost 4,000 North State adults from its ASPIRE degree-completion program, and nearly 3,000 from its School of Education. It has a highly ranked School of Nursing, a seminary, and master’s programs in counseling psychology and organizational leadership. Simpson is launching new athletics programs in track and field, swimming and diving, men’s volleyball, and women’s wrestling, as well as a bass fishing team. It is working on new programs in digital media/computer information systems, RN-BSN online, and 3:2 engineering. The university is also working to better serve transfer students from community colleges through its commitment to Associate Degree for Transfer agreements, and is offering new scholarships to traditional undergraduate students.

About Bethel School of Technology 

Based in Redding, CA, Bethel School of Technology, founded by Kris Vallotton, is a Christian faith-based software development boot camp that equips individuals to have high impact in the marketplace with the necessary skills and character to enter the job market for high-growth, in-demand IT careers. Bethel Tech launched as an online program in January 2018, and maintains a 95 percent month-over-month retention rate and an 83 percent job placement rate within 120 days of graduation.

For more information about Simpson University, call 1-888-9-SIMPSON or visit simpsonu.edu.

For more information about Bethel Tech, contact Siri Bergquist at siri.bergquist@bethel.com or visit www.betheltech.net