HP today announced the global launch of the HP Institute, an academic partnership program designed to address the worldwide IT skills gap. HP and Certiport are bringing practical experience and job-ready skills into an academic setting, packaged in a way to help students around the world obtain the IT skills and expertise that can help make them successful in the workplace.

Globally, one in three employers reports experiencing difficulties filling positions due to lack of available talent, according to a ManpowerGroup survey of nearly 40,000 employers across 39 countries and territories last year.

The HP Institute provides academic institutions with a complete learning solution, including an industry recognized certification, full curriculum and practical hands-on experience through a remote lab solution. The HP Institute will provide curriculum for the new HP Accredited Technical Associate (ATA) certifications across four key areas: Connected Devices (PC, Printing); Networks; Servers and Storage; and Cloud Solutions.

"HP is recognized internationally, and we wanted to give our students skills they could carry with them anywhere in the world to get a job," said Nick Gaunt, Instructor, Oklahoma Central Technology Center. "Having computer skills is not enough anymore, we have to help students learn very specific product lines so they can hit the ground running from day one on the job instead of spending six months to a year training in the workforce to do the job they were hired to do."