Soft skills and middle-skills gaming app development company skillsgapp has been selected by San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) to provide its gaming apps focused on helping Generation Z gain the skills necessary to participate in the skills-based job sectors needed in numerous industries. The app, which can provide data that allows states and industries to track effectiveness, nurture talent, and attain a competitive edge, will be used throughout the year, beginning with the launch at the annual STEMapalooza event to be held virtually on February 24 for students in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
The customized app for SBCSS will focus on cybersecurity, a skill that is necessary within multiple industries, including health science & medical technology; information & communication technologies; manufacturing & product design; public services; transportation; arts, media, & entertainment; and building & construction trades. The skillsgapp app for SBCSS will include four challenges that develop knowledge and skill for both middle and soft skills: cybersecurity, communication, and critical thinking. The app's interface will include a leaderboard, while the students' engagement will be measured in real time.
Based in the largest geographical county in the country, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools supports 33 K-12 school districts, five community colleges, and three regional occupation programs. The SBCSS also includes the Alliance for Education, a countywide network committed to working towards the common goal of producing an educated and skilled workforce. Skillsgapp interactive apps, targeted especially towards middle and high school students, are designed to increase awareness, address skills-based talent shortages, and advance skills-based development and recruitment for careers that require mid-level skills, including automotive, aerospace, life sciences, and IT.
"It has been a challenging and unusual year," said Carol Tsushima, Administrator for the Alliance for Education at SBCSS. "It has required quite a bit of creativity to keep our students connected, and due to the virtual nature of our events this year, we decided to provide a hands-on, engaging tool that’s both fun for the students and that also supports the needs of industry through skills development for our students. The goal of Alliance for Education has always been to assure both students and industries that we are educating for the world of work."
“We are very pleased to work with SBCSS to help them in their goal to integrate career preparation throughout each student’s educational experience," said Tina Zwolinski, CEO of skillsgapp. "States and regions that are committed to developing their students into people who have broad and diverse job options post-graduation are always going to be innovative and curious about all of the skills-development options that are available. San Bernardino broke the mold for early-adoption as they are the first to pursue the skillsgapp gaming apps as one of their education tools. No matter where students are -- in the car, waiting in line, on the couch at home, in urban or rural areas -- we want to put into the hands of every interested student the most engaging, exciting applications that help create awareness of career opportunities in various industries and help students acquire the needed technical and soft skills that will allow them to be highly sought after recruits for the country's manufacturers and technical industries."
"At skillsgapp we are focused on finding credible, engaging ways of developing the skills that our states, economic development organizations, and industries desperately need," Cynthia Jenkins, CMO of skillsgapp said. "Middle and high school students need to graduate with soft-skills -- everything from communication and critical thinking, to creativity and attention to detail, to initiative and leadership -- as well as mid-level industry skills in cybersecurity, robotics, big data analytics and math, and many others. We are able to customize our gaming apps to reach the particular demographic and develop the skills needed by region or industry."
Along with its gaming apps, skillsgapp is able to offer support to its partners through a suite of additional products and services, including tracking data on the skills development occurring within a market or audience using the app. Depending on a client's needs, the skillsgapp add-on support suite can include in-school toolkits and marketing campaigns that highlight the benefits of pursuing careers in skills-based industries. Skillsgapp tools are ideal for states, economic development organizations, industries, public sector agencies, and school districts dedicated to building and supporting a qualified workforce pipeline.
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