There were more than 546,000 open computing jobs in the U.S. and only 49,000 computer science students graduated into the workforce last year, according to Code.org. By any definition, that’s a skills gap, and Amazon Web Services Inc. has partnered with a prominent national training organization to do something about it.

The nonprofit organization Project Lead the Way Inc. has joined forces with AWS to help foster a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers in computer science, engineering and biomedical studies.

“Our job is to inspire kids,” said David Dimmett (pictured), senior vice president and chief engagement officer of Project Lead the Way. “We want them to a have access to a lifetime of opportunity. Students who have these [computer] skills, have opportunities, have doors opened to them.”

Dimmett spoke with Jeff Frick, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the AWS Imagine: A Better World event in Seattle. They discussed the work of the nonprofit to increase computer science knowledge in the classroom and a recently formed initiative to boost cloud computing skills.

Educating 3 million students

Project Lead the Way is currently working with more than 3 million students and has trained 10,000 teachers nationally, according to Dimmett. Some of the science courses are integrated into the home room curriculum in the lower grades, while elective courses are being offered at the middle and high school levels.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing schools require those courses because it exposes students to some of the careers that they may not understand or opportunities that they don’t know exist,” Dimmett said.

AWS supports the program with subject matter experts and technology tools to help with the instructional process. A year ago, AWS and Project Lead the Way joined forces with the Kentucky Department of Education to offer K-12 and college students a new program designed to foster education in cloud computing. The Kentucky Cloud Career Pathways program is designed to provide students with new skill sets in fields such as cybersecurity.

“You look at the cybersecurity threats that our country faces, that other countries face, it’s both an economic issue and also a national security issue,” Dimmett said. “We just don’t have the skilled workforce to be effective in those areas.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s editorial coverage of the AWS Imagine: A Better World event:

Photo: SiliconANGLE