All sorts of organizations have made their predictions and proclamations about what 2019 will be the year of... Some say it is the Year of Optimism and growth for helicopters, others, …of the Hack & Slash, …of indigenous languages, …of the electric SUV, and even the International Year of the Salmon.  It all comes down to what someone sees as an important aspect of their field to promote or what is or should be a trend.  DrupalEasy would therefore like propose we make 2019 the Year of Drupal Talent Development.

As an active member of the community, we've observed, had great discussions and provided several sessions at Camps and Cons about the talent shortage in the community as well as how to build a Drupal career. We feel it is pretty important to Drupal. Right now, there are more than 2,000 jobs requiring Drupal skills on Indeed, and hundreds more continually being added. The Drupal Association also recognized the need, as we discovered while putting together this blog post, with the introduction of a Drupal Educational Opportunities Newsletter, which will help get the word out to those looking to further their skills, and those looking to start a career in Drupal.  

As a training organization, we not only train within the community, but bring in new people to develop passion for Drupal. We’ve had over a decade to watch people who started out not being able to spell Drupal develop the commitment and skills to excel at it. We’ve seen our Drupal learning community grow, diversity, and expand internationally, as new students hone their skills and strive to contribute to the community while they do it. Through all of this talent development for Drupal and the community, most gratifying is seeing the companies and organizations compete for the people building rewarding and fulfilling careers through experience and participation. 

How can we make it the Year of Drupal Talent Development?  A simple way is for each of us to simply sharie information on Drupal as a career and the opportunities in Drupal to those who may benefit from it. For those with the need and resources, providing the education and training needed for individuals or teams. There are some great resources to get information about Drupal as a career. 

The US Department of Labor has an Occupational Outlook Handbookprovides summaries of careers including salary ranges, anticipated job growth, and types of work environments.  Their entry on Web Developer careers, though not specific to Drupal, seems to track pretty well. There is also great salary information about Drupal specific web development through the Indeed Salary Tool, as well as Glass Door's version. 

Of course, salary is just a part of it, so a few years ago, we put together a Drupal Career Resources page to provide an index of information, insight and news for those looking to get into Drupal. It is a quick way for those of us who are in the community to share a lot of information.    

We also truly believe that solid education in the ways of Drupal is key to get and keep people active in the community.  Mike Anello teaches our our 12-week live, Drupal Career Online course twice each year.  The career technical education course is licensed as a certificate program through the Florida Department of Education Commission for Independent Education.

Drupal Career Online is a  comprehensive program that includes 2 class sessions and one co-working lab session each week, along with Mike's office hours and access to other training provider resources, most recently Drupalize.me.  Participants are also provide rich learning resources including a lesson guide, class slides, links to go further in-depth into topics, and a screencast for every lesson, which is all accessible through a session-specific class web site. 

Prior to each DCO session, we hold Taste of Drupal mini-webinars to introduce people to Drupal, Drupal careers and our course.  There are 2 more sessions before the Spring 2019 session of Drupal Career Online kicks off on February 25th.  Those interested can sign up for a Taste of Drupal, or contact us to get more information.