{"id":48726,"date":"2020-02-25T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/?post_type=articles&p=48726"},"modified":"2020-02-25T14:11:48","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T19:11:48","slug":"bootcamps-fill-a-niche-in-training-for-fintech-and-tech-sales-roles","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/articles\/it-and-technical-training\/bootcamps-fill-a-niche-in-training-for-fintech-and-tech-sales-roles\/","title":{"rendered":"Bootcamps Fill a Niche in Training for Fintech and Tech Sales Roles"},"author":52,"featured_media":48727,"template":"","tags":[4132,800,4457,3590,4458],"class_list":["post-48726","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bootcamp","tag-coding-bootcamps","tag-fintech","tag-tech-sales","tag-tech-sales-training","global_topic_tax-it-and-technical-training","global_topic_tax-sales"],"acf":{"sponsored":false,"gated":false,"gated_content_type":"","file_attachment":null,"gated_content":"","form_instruction_header":"To access the full article, please fill out the form below:","pardot_html_embed":"","author_override":true,"author_name":"Taryn Oesch, CPTM","author_image":42036,"author_bio":"Taryn Oesch is the award-winning managing editor for digital content at Training Industry, Inc., and co-host of The Business of Learning<\/a>, the Training Industry podcast.","excerpt":"As a form of professional training, bootcamps emerged in the software development industry, primarily to reskill non-technical people interested in entering the engineering field. Now, the bootcamp model has caught the interest of other industries.","main_content":"Earlier this month, Business Insider Intelligence reported that funding for the financial technology (\u201cfintech\u201d) industry reached $32.6 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2018. Further, PwC\u2019s 2019 \u201cGlobal Fintech Survey\u201d<\/a> of financial services and technology, media and telecommunications companies found that almost half of companies in those industries \u201chave embedded fintech fully into their strategic operating model,\u201d and over three-quarters \u201care creating jobs related to fintech.\u201d Unfortunately, many of these companies are having a hard time finding talent qualified to fill those roles.\r\n\r\nIn response to these trends, education providers are looking for new ways to attract professionals to this field and upskill or reskill them for these new jobs. For example, Trilogy Education, which partners with universities and employers to bridge digital skills gaps, recently released a series of statements announcing fintech bootcamps launched in partnership with major universities.\r\n\r\nThe Rise of Non-coding Bootcamps<\/b>\r\n\r\nAs a form of professional training, bootcamps emerged in the software development industry, primarily to reskill non-technical people interested in entering the lucrative engineering field. These coding bootcamps<\/a> have become ways for employers to recruit new talent as well.\r\n\r\nNow, the bootcamp model has caught the interest of other industries. Indeed, Trilogy, which was acquired last spring by 2U, Inc.<\/a>, prides itself on being \u201ca leader in expanding skills-based bootcamps beyond just coding,\u201d according to chief learning officer Luyen Chou, previously chief product officer of Trilogy Education and now chief learning officer of 2U. \u201cOnce we demonstrated with our university partners that bootcamps could produce strong student outcomes, we saw a potential to apply this training model to other topics that require a solid technical foundation and are seeing strong job growth,\u201d including digital marketing and, now, fintech in addition to more traditional bootcamp topics like web development, data analytics and cybersecurity.\r\n\r\nThe sales industry has caught on, as well. In 2015, sales veteran James Nielsen founded Sales Bootcamp, aimed at technology sales and described as \u201cthe world\u2019s first immersive sales bootcamp.\u201d<\/a> In 2017, the company acquired Inside Sales Bootcamp (founded in 2016), and in 2018, it rebranded as Vendition. Nielsen believes that the ideal sales rep candidate<\/a> has just two or three months of experience. Bootcamps can provide that experience and make learners excited about entering their new field, helping to ensure that they hit the ground running.\r\n\r\nVendition got some new competition earlier this month when Kiite, a sales software company, launched Uvaro, an intensive, 12-week, bootcamp-like program. \u201cUvaro exists to fill the overwhelming unfulfilled demand for sales talent at scale-up companies in North America\u2019s emerging technology hubs,\u201d says co-founder Joseph Fung. Its first cohort, which began the program in January, had 800 applicants from across the continent. The goal? \u201cTo take the current median salary of the first cohort \u2014 $31,000 \u2014 and shift that to potential earnings of more than $90,000 upon Uvaro program completion,\u201d Fung says.\r\n\r\nAlso last month, Flockjay, an \u201conline sales academy\u201d backed by tennis player Serena Williams and actor Will Smith, announced $2.98 million<\/a> in new funding from investors such as Microsoft chairman John Thompson and Gmail inventor Paul Buchheit. According to Shaan Hathiramani, founder and chief executive officer, Flockjay is aimed at learners \u201cfrom non-traditional backgrounds.\u201d Like Uvaro, the program\u2019s goal is to help participants \u201csignificantly increase their income and get future-proof tech sales jobs.\u201d","full_width":false,"content_band":[{"acf_fc_layout":"social_callout","blockquote":"Bootcamps can provide experience and make learners excited about entering their new field."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_area","wysiwyg":"Meeting the Demands of an Emerging Industry<\/b>\r\n\r\nEvery industry is becoming more tech-driven, but financial services is, perhaps, particularly susceptible to digital disruption. Unfortunately, \u201cfew options exist for finance professionals to learn the tech skills that are becoming critical to the future of the industry,\u201d says Timur Pakay, associate director of executive education programs at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University, which is partnering with Trilogy Education to offer a fintech bootcamp.\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s more, companies in many other industries are beginning to look for employees with fintech skills, says Erica Wilke Bova, assistant dean of international and professional education programs at Northwestern University School of Professional Studies, another Trilogy partner. Chou points out that tech companies like Apple, Facebook and Google are expanding into financial products, citing a November Wired article titled \u201cEvery Tech Company Wants to Be a Bank \u2014 Someday, At Least.\u201d<\/a> He believes that, as a result, more people, from a broader range of educational backgrounds, will be looking to reskill in this area.\r\n\r\nOffering a program that\u2019s tailored to fintech rather than a more generic software engineering bootcamp is important because, Wilke Bova says, it can focus on the specific skills and applications learners will need to understand to succeed in this industry. For instance, the Northwestern bootcamp teaches Python, a common coding language used in data science, and then assigns fintech-specific projects, such as using Python to model future financial performance, building an Ethereum blockchain and developing a robo-adviser<\/a> that can provide financial services. These programs can meet the needs both of financial professionals who want to develop technical skills and of technologists who want to develop finance knowledge, Chou says.\r\n\r\nMeeting the Demands of a Specialized Role<\/b>\r\n\r\nSimilarly, Fung says that tech sales is unique in the sales field and, therefore, requires unique training. Several factors make tech sales a special case, including the significant financial and resource investments in business software, unique buying processes and cycle, and the varying business models (e.g., software as a service, or SaaS) used by software companies.\r\n\r\nTech sales training, like training in many other areas, \u201crequires a blend of practical and theoretical education,\u201d says Fung. However, he believes that too many sales training programs focus on theory and neglect application. In a role as complex as tech sales, being able to practice new skills before using them in the field is critical. To that end, Flockjay students use multiple sales technologies and tools and participate in practice sales calls, supported by coaching, \u201cso they are able to hit the ground running,\u201d says Hathiramani.\r\n\r\n\u201cHow do you teach someone empathy? How do you teach someone to be a good listener? These are things that can\u2019t be taught simply by reading or passively watching videos online,\u201d adds Kelly Schuur, head of sales training at Flockjay. \u201cThey require getting practice with humans.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnother challenge is that professionals with experience in other verticals often face a barrier in transferring their skill set to tech sales \u2014 both in practical terms and in terms of convincing potential employers that they have what it takes. An intensive learning experience like Uvaro, Fung believes, can help both students and companies \u201cdistill, synthesize and apply these diverse experiences.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s Next?<\/b>\r\n\r\nUvaro is free until graduates have a job, at which time they must repay the company with 10% of their base salary for two years, and most of Flockjay\u2019s students also defer payment with an income share agreement. Is this model sustainable? Fung believes it is, and the fact that Uvaro uses the Kiite software as its main platform is likely a contributing factor to this belief. Schuur believes that using an income share agreement makes both parties committed to \u201ca common goal of job placement.\u201d\r\n\r\nMore than half the world\u2019s population uses the internet<\/a>, notes Schuur. \u201cTech sales reps serve as a bridge between the past and the future, to solve problems customers have never faced before. Sales reps are no longer a \u2018nice-to-have\u2019 but a \u2018need-to-have\u2019 in a buyer\u2019s journey.\u201d\r\n\r\nAs for the fintech bootcamps, Trilogy continues to announce new programs at different universities, so they appear to be expanding, at least for now. Chou says in 2020, Trilogy will release bootcamps in new topic areas, release online bootcamps and integrate bootcamps into other programs (such as online graduate degree programs).\r\n\r\nAs technology continues to grow and expand, we\u2019re only likely to see more innovation in the training required to build and sell it. Looking to the future of work \u2014 both near and distant \u2014\u00a0 these industries will continue to need specialized skills in order to compete. Whether through bootcamps or other models, the training market will follow their lead."},{"acf_fc_layout":"social_callout","blockquote":"In a role as complex as tech sales, being able to practice new skills before using them in the field is critical. "},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_area","wysiwyg":"[hubspot type=\"form\" portal=\"47185625\" id=\"31abc617-027a-47ea-a085-16e2fd6a2d32\" version=\"v4\"]\r\n\r\n