“A platform for communities to invest in their best and brightest” …that’s how this week’s guest describes the company he works for. Sounds great, right?

We invited Cole Shearer, Vice President – Skills Accelerator at gener8tor, to join Manufacturing Happy Hour this week. In this episode, he outlines his career to date, what he does at gener8tor, and provides some top tips for startup founders.

Cole explains the struggles of the talent shortage in the cybersecurity space and breaks down how the gener8tor program helps job seekers find work. We hear a little about how gener8tor has evolved since Cole joined the team, and he also describes what his ideal organization to work with would look like.

In this episode, find out:

• All about Cole’s early career
• Why startup founders should take risks
• How gener8tor helps jobseekers into work
• How gener8tor’s skills accelerator program works
• Why gener8tor teamed up on a Microsoft initiative
• How gener8tor has changed in recent years
• Why there’s a growing need for cybersecurity talent

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Tweetable Quotes:

• “If someone wants to make a change in their career and they have the aptitude and willingness to go through a program, they’re probably fit for ours.”
• “There are hundreds of thousands of open cybersecurity roles right now across the country. And the amount of actual potential talent to fill those positions is very limited.”
• “Our cybersecurity program is set up as a 10-week program that will be able to support participants and make sure that they're able to take the next stage of their career.”

Links & mentions:

• gener8tor, an accelerator platform that offers over 75 programs such as startup and skills accelerators, fellowships and conferences to startup founders, corporations and job seekers.
• Bar 18, Indianapolis

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.