When a business needs a team of workers with specialized computer skills, it can turn to SkillStorm to provide them.
Jacksonville-based SkillStorm recruits and pays trainees while learning and assigns the class as a team to travel and live where the customer is located.
Most of the company’s clients are government employers, but commercial clients have also signed on, SkillStorm CEO Justin Vianello said.
Civilian clients include all of the Big Four consulting firms, he said.
Teams specialize in cloud computing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
SkillStorm started in 2002. Vianello had worked with another company using a similar model, but in the government market it was difficult to find individuals with specific training needed for the tech jobs.
Originally, the company was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, but Vianello moved it to Jacksonville in 2020 in search of a more highly educated workforce, marketing opportunities and efficiency, he said.
“We looked at Dallas, we looked at Charlotte, but from a cost perspective, none of them could really match Jacksonville. Plus, it’s a big community. There are universities here. You’ve got access to talent,” he said.
About 40% of SkillStorm’s new hires are military veterans or those transitioning out of the service. Vianello said those hires’ military training has prepared them to be SkillStorm employees.
Veterans understand teamwork, accomplishing goals and intense training, he said.
The company has an 80% training success rate.
Another reason why the company desires those transitioning from the military is that many already have necessary security clearances. This makes them job-ready when training is concluded.
Much of the company’s sales force comprises employees with experience in intelligence agencies and the Secret Service.
Again, familiarity with how government works, the jargon and meeting customer needs is a skill set that such recruits already possess.
As part of the hiring process, candidates interview with SkillStorm recruiters, a technical trainer, the sales team and the customer.
When trained, the team is dispatched to the customer’s location. A term of service can be a few months or a couple of years. Trainees are told where they will eventually work before being hired by SkillStorm.
Ideally, SkillStorm would find trainees who already live near the customer. After the team is deployed, a local team member can return to his or her home without displacing and uprooting their family.
Depending on customer needs, training usually takes 10 to 16 weeks, Vianello said.
From the first day of class, students are SkillStorm employees who are paid at a salary similar to that of an entry-level software engineer.
Teams can range from 10 people to more than 100 depending on the job requirements. Upon the contract’s completion, the team members can opt to join another team for additional specialized SkillStorm training. Customers often hire team members to stay on after the contract is fulfilled.
“When you deploy a team that’s been training for three months and working together, they can hit the ground running,” Vianello said.
“They can be effective immediately. When you’re building individuals that don’t know each other, the skill sets don’t match, and you don’t get the synergy and acceleration that you get through our model.”
Company culture is important at SkillStorm, Vianello said. Training is done in a specified manner and, like the military, SkillStorm wants as much buy-in from its troops as possible.
Trainees are called “Storm Chasers.” Team members who have been deployed are known as “Stormers.” Those having marked their fifth anniversary with company are “Stormers for Life.”