When you hear the word bootcamp, what's the first thing that comes to mind? You probably pictured a military training camp run by strict rules and rigid discipline. That's the real meaning of the word, but lately, it has been applied to short and rigorous training in general.

Nowadays, there are bootcamps for health, leisure, and business. Surely, you've heard of fitness bootcamps, culinary bootcamps, marketing bootcamps, and information technology bootcamps, among many others.

Yes, IT bootcamps do exist for employees to help them improve their current skills and learn the basics of new ones. IT bootcamps can be for coding, data science, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and even certifications. It's just a matter of choosing the right bootcamp for your employees. Since bootcamps are short, discussions and activities are fast yet intense, which leave a great impact on participants.

Benefits of IT bootcamps

Some employers may be hesitant to send their employees away to an IT bootcamp for anywhere between a few days to several weeks, but the following benefits -- for employers and employees alike -- make the sacrifice more than worth it:

Testing skill levels

An IT bootcamp is a good way to tell what skill levels your employees currently have, regardless of how long they've been with the company. A new employee may be more skilled than you originally suspected, so it’s crucial to spot that as early as you can if there’s strong potential.

On the other hand, an old-timer who have already proven their capability through the years may still need to upgrade their skills in some aspects. Or it could be the other way around; the point is that you’ll never know until your employees are right in the action and showcasing what they’ve got.

Developing soft skills

Hard skills are important, but so are soft skills. Fortunately, an IT bootcamp can develop both, given that it’s also a social setting wherein participants collaborate with one another to accomplish an assigned task. The only real difference is that in an IT bootcamp, the deadlines are extremely tight, and the pressure is immense.

Of course, the same can be said for some projects at the workplace, but typically, an IT bootcamp takes it to the next level as part of the overall experience. Your employees will have to figure out a way to effectively work with one another if they want to complete the IT bootcamp in a successful manner.

Instilling discipline

It’s not called a bootcamp for nothing. Military bootcamps – on which IT bootcamps are patterned – are all about instilling discipline so that hard-to-achieve goals become attainable. It’s no different for an IT bootcamp. Lack of discipline will most likely end in failure, so in order to pass, participants must develop productive habits to help them complete the program. When both personal pride and job stability are on the line, most employees will step up.

Preparing for certifications

The process of getting certified can be costly, so you should ensure your employees pass and get the certifications for which you applied them. For many companies, prepping their staff for certifications is one of the common reasons for sending employees to an IT bootcamp. The goal is for employees to retain as much information as they can in the quickest time possible. Time is not wasted on irrelevant topics, which may be interesting but impractical. Instead, participants are expected to perform in real-life situations for them to gain firsthand experience. The saying “experience is the best teacher” has never been this true.

Saving resources

An alternative to an IT bootcamp is classroom-training programs, but these are often costlier in terms of money and time. Bootcamps can be as short as a few days, but classroom-training programs can take months, resulting in higher tuition fees. Also, many companies can’t afford to have several employees away from the office for such a long period of time. Thus, an IT bootcamp is the more practical choice for companies.

The right choice for your company

There’s no denying that an IT bootcamp is beneficial for employees, so the next step for you is to choose the right training provider. You can find some options online, but for a provider you can count on, you can’t go wrong with Infotec. We at Infotec offer instructor-led extreme bootcamps for employees preparing to take the CompTIA Security+ exams.

Our extreme bootcamps are only five days in duration, so you won’t have to worry about your employees being away too long. And when they return, they’ll be more than ready to take on the exams and more. Contact us now to know more about our extreme bootcamps and other training programs.