At Salesforce Equality is one of our core values, and we’re committed to empowering a diverse and qualified workforce with the skills needed to be successful in the 21st century workforce. This year, we introduced our newest workforce development program, called the Pathfinder Training Program, to help drive this vision forward. The inaugural class graduated in September and their stories are nothing short of inspiring.  

Sal Bias Carrera

Sal Bias Carrera grew up in West Indianapolis and spent parts of his teenage years homeless, often forced to sleep in a park with his family. When he lost his sister, he committed to breaking the cycle of poverty for his family. Sal enrolled in Indianapolis’ Ivy Tech Community College to learn about Computer Science. He excelled in his classes and one of his professors nominated him for the Pathfinder program, which provides the training and accreditation necessary to be positioned for high paying jobs as Salesforce Administrators and Salesforce Developers.

After going through the four-month program, he graduated from the Pathfinder Training Program in September and was hired by Deloitte as a paid intern and Salesforce Developer. He was invited to speak at in September at Deloitte’s Dreamforce Kick-off in front of hundreds of Deloitte practitioners to share his story and give advice to others looking to be successful in the future workforce.

Nia Johnson

Pathfinders come to the program from all backgrounds, experiences, and careers. When Nia Johnson graduated from Indiana University - Purdue University with  a degree in business, she still hadn't found her professional passion. While working in operations for a popcorn company, she took an interest in tech, went back to school at Ivy Tech Community College, and learned about Pathfinder. After graduating from the program with a Salesforce Certified Administrator certificate, she landed a job as an associate consultant and Salesforce administrator at Appirio, an IT consulting company. Within her first week at Appirio, she was invited to participate in a global all-hands call, and is continuing to grow at the company.

The Pathfinder Training Program provides the training and accreditation necessary to be positioned for high paying jobs in the Salesforce ecosystem. The fourth-month program provides technical training and support to become certified Salesforce Administrators and Developers.

Pathfinder partner Deloitte also provides Pathfinders training on business skills, including modules in time management, networking and effective communication. Deloitte has also committed to hiring 10 percent of Pathfinder graduates.

The second class of the Pathfinder Training Program starts today (Monday, October 22) with 52 participants from Indiana. The cohort consists of students from Ivy Tech Community College, and U.S. veterans. Nearly half are women.

Find out more about the Pathfinder program here.