As the Technical Account Managers (TAMs) team leader for Latin America, I’ve witnessed one of the major challenges of today’s world companies: finding qualified talent for tech positions. Seeing this, every time we posted a job, made me check on alternatives to overcoming such difficulties, and the Red Hat Academy Program seemed to me as an opportunity to address this problem long-term, from the very first contact with its proposals.
The Red Hat Academy program provides the essential context to build a solid knowledge base in Linux, cloud, and developer tools for both students and universities, not only reducing the technical skills gap but also preparing them for the challenges of the job market. Through the Red Hat Academy Talent Network, a valuable bridge is also being created between these talents and real opportunities within our market: partners, Red Hat itself, and even our Technical Account Management practice.
Over time, we've been creating valuable connections with universities. By promoting our TAMs to “adopt” a university and participate in presentations where they share details and experiences on our products, Open Source, and even insights into daily life at Red Hat with the young talents, we're also strengthening one of our pillars' culture: give-back.
Fully overcoming the challenges of qualification is a long journey. However, from this path, I’m certain of one thing: closing the gaps and jointly collaborating in understanding the challenges and possibilities of the future requires knowledge exchange, training experiences, and an open conversation between tech companies, students, and universities. And that’s exactly what I’ve seen that Red Hat Academy program is for.
More than just sharing knowledge, the RHA Program has been a deeply connecting experience—an opportunity to engage with young, passionate individuals eager to talk about technology, the industry, and their future. It’s been rewarding to offer meaningful insights in response to their genuine questions about what a typical day looks like in a global tech company, how to stay up to date in such a fast-paced field, and whether it’s possible to break into tech without much prior experience. I spoke to them openly about the importance of curiosity, community, and learning through hands-on experiences, and how each project presents its unique challenges. It didn’t feel like just a presentation—it felt like planting seeds of confidence in the potential of future talent.
I am confident that the more universities that join the program and the more young people who gain access to our training, the more qualified professionals who are passionate about our culture we will have in the future.
About Red Hat Academy:
The Red Hat Academy Program is a no-cost initiative that delivers the same courses found in Red Hat Training, but specifically designed for higher education institutions. It enables the academic communities to enroll their students and provide them with broad access to valuable resources, such as e-books, courses, cloud-based labs, HTML versions of the course books, certification exam discounts, and more.
About Talent Network:
Talent Network is a no-cost Red Hat job portal that connects Red Hat’s partners and customers with students enrolled in the Red Hat Academy program. The platform allows both students and employers to explore talent opportunities by showcasing open profiles of learners who have completed at least one Red Hat Academy course and by highlighting potential job openings. Watch the video and learn more.
