Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Three Talents Bridge academy is a technical and soft skills training program specifically created and adapted for people with disabilities. It has been launched in a number of countries globally., and is hosted by partners in each location. Our core partner engages local employers, leverage local NGO’s, recruit students, delivers the program and oversees the results. The global Bridge to Opportunity team provides best practices and advice to the program partners to maximize their impact and leverage the insights of all other preceding programs.

  • The program was first developed in partnership with a global IT company that had challenges finding qualified talent. The program has evolved over the last few years based on the best practices and lessons learned from each program. As a result, each subsequent program leverages best practices from every preceding program. Our continuous improvement process has contributed to our strong consistent results.

  • Most of our programs use the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) certification program and curriculum. It is globally recognized and effective at securing employment in many companies regardless of their technology platform. Most of our partners offer the CCNA core program and certification augmented with additional training specifically on cybersecurity.

  • We have set up programs with partners in the United States, Europe, and Africa. We are working with partners now to launch new programs in new locations. Any organizations interested in working with us to replicate our success can email ceo@threetalents.org to find out more or explore new locations.

  • The timing and duration of the program is dictated by the delivery partner and curriculum offered. Typically, the program is about 40 weeks for the CCNA / cyber-security curriculum.

  • The class schedule is set by the program operator and delivery partners. Generally, students should plan on attending a class or live “lecture” 4 – 5 hours a day, five days a week. Additionally, there are labs that are required and self-study is needed. Students should plan on this being a full-time effort for the duration of the program.

  • Yes, our training is beyond technical training only. It includes lab work, some work experience, hands on experiences, ready for work training, guest lecturers, and mentors.

    The ready for work training includes the development of soft skills to enable our candidates to succeed in the work place. Typically, students are also mentored from technically qualified professionals with experience in the industry so they gain confidence and turn their newly acquired job skills into strong applications and better interviews.

    Many of our employer partners are engaged throughout the program offering site visits, guest lecturers, and other program support.

  • Typically, the program is free of cost to the students and without cost to employers. We seek funding from other sources to cover the cost of delivering the program. This allows us to engage the best candidates in the programs without regard to their financial predisposition.

  • The program application process is led by our delivery partners. Normally they solicit interested candidates and manage the application process. A selection committee will often review the applications and interview the candidates. The selected candidates agree to admission requirements and are then enrolled by the delivery partner.

    To find out more about a program near you, feel free to email us at ceo@threetalents.org

  • Contact our orchestrator partners to find out more about their program and potentially apply for admission. If you are interested in a program location near you and have questions you can email us at ceo@threetalents.org

  • The typical CCNA / cyber-security program prepares our candidates for entry level jobs in cyber-security as junior analysts or technicians. Typically, graduates start as interns or apprentices. Once they prove themselves, they may be offered full-time permanent employment.

  • Yes, we include a significant amount of hands-on experience during the program. We also seek opportunities for participation in live work environments to prepare the students for future jobs. At the end of the course, students typically will do a three to six-month internship at an employer where they can put theory into practice and gain valuable work experience.

  • No, we do not focus on only one disability. We welcome students with all disabilities into our programs, and provide the necessary reasonable accommodations based on their impairment.

  • No, we train the students to develop general IT skills, as well as expertise in digital literacy, networking, and cybersecurity. Our training is independent of the technology platform and adaptable to technology from multiple vendors and relevant to most employers.

  • Our employer partners aspire to arrange internships or apprenticeships for as many of our candidates after graduation and certification as possible. However, these internships are not guaranteed. Most of our certified graduates secure internships either on own or arranged by the program team. Internships are typically paid at near full pay for three to six months. The salaries for these jobs are paid for by the employer.

  • To date, we have had over 40 cohorts of classes worldwide and over 500 graduates. Overall, over 90%of the enrolled students graduate from the program, and over 85% achieve certification and secure an initial IT job either as a full time-permanent employee or internship / apprenticeship. Many start as an intern or apprentice.

    The program is based on our proprietary Bridge to Opportunity model that has achieved strong results with multiple cohorts in several global locations.

  • The specific candidate selection process is managed by our partner in each location. Most programs require candidates to have a secondary school diploma, an aptitude for Information Technology, and the motivation to achieve a better life.

  • We are incredibly proud to have our program successes. In the short-term, we expect to continue to support the graduation, certification and employment of our students. Longer term, we plan to expand to new markets, enhance our curriculum, and enrich soft skills development.

  • The Three Talents Bridge academy is a unique collaboration between public and private partners. In each location our global team along with a program orchestrator develop a unique ecosystem that typically includes a delivery partner, employers, government groups, non-government entities (NGO’s) and disability advocacy organizations. We organize and launch the program leveraging our global best practices.

  • The class schedule is set by the program operator and delivery partner.

    For our flagship CCNA program, students should plan on attending a class or live “lecture” 4 – 5 hours a day, five days a week. There is also weekly time needed for labs and self-study. Students should plan on this being a full-time effort for the duration of the program.

    Our new Associates program will be offered 100% live but remote. Students will be able to complete all classroom and lab work in approximately 20 hours per week. Details will be available about this program when we launch it.

  • On average 86% of our certified graduates move to paid internships after graduation.

  • While we do not have precise numbers on the long term employment of our graduates, we believe 58% of our certified graduates achieve a full-time paid IT job within 1 year of graduation. We believe even more achieve long term employment in other roles.

  • We engage a variety of partners into a unique ecosystem in each community where we provide a Bridge to Opportunity Program. The partners and this ecosystem are critical to our success and a foundation of our program.

    All partners benefit from our program. Partnership opportunities are typically created in the following areas:

    Orchestrators: organizing partners who create a local community ecosystem, operate the program, oversee the program delivery (even if they do not do the training themselves), facilitate employer partners, secure funding, and engage community groups.

    Operators or Deliver Partners: delivery partners provide the actual training and deliver the training program per our model. They are typically engaged by the orchestrator or organizing partner in the community. They benefit by meeting their organizational mission to enable transformative impact on the marginalized.

    Government Agencies and Groups: we find government groups and various agencies are deeply committed to our mission to enable employment of people with disabilities. They are typically engaged by the orchestrator or organizing partner in the community to endorse the program.

    Government groups benefit from this program by meeting their mission to expand the labour pool, create employment opportunities for the marginalized, and, transform benefit recipients into taxpayers.

    Employer Partners: employers are critical to our ecosystem as our employers of our candidates. Employers are typically engaged from the onset of the program in each community, enrich the program throughout, and enable internship or job opportunities for the candidates upon graduation.

    Employers benefit by building their brand, enhancing their productivity, expanding the diversity of their workforce, and enhancing their brand.

    Advocacy Partners: advocacy partners are typically community groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) that are focused on advocacy people with disabilities. We engage advocacy partners at the onset of our programs to help identify and recruit candidates, enrich the training, facilitate community awareness and help engage other major community or employer partners. They are typically engaged by the orchestrator or organizing partner in the community.

    Advocacy partners benefit from this program by meeting their mission to help the marginalized, expand the community workforce, grow economic empowerment of people with disabilities in the community, increase employment, and expand diversity inclusion.

  • Employment partners play a critical role throughout the program in addition to developing a pipeline of talent after program completion and graduation. We seek to engage employment partners from the very beginning of the training so they can participate in and enrich the training throughout. They also develop comfort and familiarity with our candidates to enable an easier employment transition after graduation.

    Throughout the program, our employment partners often offer candidate internships, participate as “guest lecturers”, host site visits for the students to their facility, offer mentor volunteers, and help with mock interviews.

    The goal of this program is full employment. Employment partners are critical to our success as we offer students internships at the end of the course, so they leave with work experience.

  • As an employer, you are joining a unique partnership between other mission aligned leading international and national companies in both the private and the public sectors. You will have access to a pool of talents equipped with in-demand IT and computer skills. Through this partnership, you will have the opportunity to become a more disability-confident and inclusive employer. You will be able to work with and recruit young and talented students with disabilities who are ambitious to build careers in the IT sector.

  • If you are interested in joining the partnership, please email us at ceo@threetalents.org. We will arrange direct dialogue with you about program locations and partnership opportunities.

Want to learn more?

Email us at ceo@bridgetoopportunity.org