Amazon Web Services Inc. is one the most widely used cloud service providers today. Therefore, it’s no surprise that training and certification to become a skilled AWS developer is in high demand.

The company has committed to training 29 million people for free by 2025 and, given the milestones already achieved, that end goal seems entirely realistic.

“We’ve trained 6 million so far, so we’re making great progress on that goal, said Maureen Lonergan (pictured), vice president of training and certification at Amazon Web Services Inc. “Just a month ago, we launched our Skill Builder platform that provides 500 free training courses in 16 languages, across 200 countries. We also launched the AWS Skills Center in Seattle, which is learner acquisition and bringing in people from the community to learn about cloud.”

Lonergan spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during AWS re:Invent. They discussed the importance of upskilling to the cloud industry, and AWS’ part in that effort. (* Disclosure below.)

An influx of skilled hands to match industry demand

The antecedent idea behind the program was to upskill individuals who lost their jobs during the pandemic as the world shifts to a remote/virtual economy. In employing a comprehensive approach to its implementation, AWS is ensuring that poorer communities, non-tech individuals, and disenfranchised demographics also enjoy the same unfettered access to course material.

“We also have a program for underserved and unemployed communities where we go in and do a kind of non-tech to tech training. And we’re offering that program in 90 locations this year in a bid to address the early pipeline,” Lonergan explained.

A simple Google search will reveal that AWS skills are in high demand, with thousands of new listings added every day. Across the many intrinsic specializations, however, a few in particular are seeing even more industry clamor.

“Demand is pretty much the same thing, it’s solution architecture, security for sure, DevOps, developers, but we’re also seeing a huge interest in the business roles, really understanding what cloud is and how it can benefit businesses,” Lonergan stated.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS re:Invent. (* Disclosure: Amazon Web Services Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE