One of the largest technology industry associations is launching a new collaboration with a career training group—with the goal of narrowing training gaps that are holding back a potential future workforce.

CompTIA and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) are partnering to create new programs to train people for careers in information technology and related fields. With CompTIA representing the $5.2 trillion global IT field and ACTE the largest nonprofit in the U.S. focused on career training, the initiative could help bring positions that were once accessible only to highly educated people within reach of anyone with the right training, said Amy Kardel, CompTIA’s vice president for strategic workforce relationships, in a news release.

“Together we intend to address the tech industry’s current and future needs for high-skilled workers equipped with the classroom training, hands-on experience, and professional certifications that prepare them to be strong contributors from day one on the job,” Kardel said.

And the demand is growing: About 10 percent of all job postings nationwide, nearly 900,000 in all, are in the IT field. Under the partnership, CompTIA’s member companies will work directly with ACTE instructors to locate training opportunities, Kardel said.

In a recent ACTE study, more than 98 percent of career technical education administrators, who make up much of its member base, say it’s important for the association to have relationships with industry groups to help guide educational outcomes.

“The technology workforce is critical to today’s economy, and with this partnership both organizations will help strengthen the talent pipeline and improve learners’ access to key resources,” ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson said in the release. “We are grateful to CompTIA for their leadership and look forward to working with them.”

The new collaboration is the latest step in CompTIA’s ongoing effort to build up its education and certification offerings in recent years. Other examples include exploring the addition of data visualization and Python as certification options and providing tech training for teens through its NextUp initiative.

(vm/E+/Getty Images Plus)