Partnership aims to help vets succeed in their next ‘mission’

With thoughts of Veteran’s Day still fresh, one unfortunate aspect of being a veteran remains: It’s tough landing a good job after leaving the military.

In fact, post-service life has been a serious challenge for many vets, according to media reports. On the upside, it’s not all bad news.

Along those lines, a new program from Shift—a military career-change company backed by Andreessen Horowitz, the private venture capital firm in Menlo Park, Calif.—will offer veterans considering a career change a chance to reduce costs when attending some of the country’s best tech-skills education programs.

To make it happen, Shift launched a partnership with Lambda School to help veterans pursue new careers in tech. The program currently offer four tracks: web development, iOS development, data science and user experience.

According to Shift, all courses are taught live, via video, which enables students to learn from anywhere. In addition, Lambda School offers an income-share agreement, whereby students pay no upfront tuition. Instead, they pay a percentage of their income once they land a job.

“Every day, we meet veterans who are eager to learn the skills they need to break into tech,” says Mike Slagh, Shift’s CEO and a former bomb disposal officer in the Navy. “Cost and location should never be a barrier for a veteran who is ready and willing to learn the skills that today’s employers need.”

Related: Why hiring veterans is good for business

Slagh reports that the new program is made possible through a philanthropic fund in partnership with the EdAid Foundation, which helps reduce the cost of nontraditional education programs not covered by the GI Bill.

The program also encourages military veterans to think about #MyNextMission—that is, a meaningful role where they can thrive in their post-military career.

In a world where fast-growing companies need as much talent as they can get, veterans bring real-life mission experience to the table. But, unfortunately, many veterans need a foot in the door—exactly what Lambda School’s tech education can offer.

“Veterans have such extraordinary potential,” says Austen Allred, CEO at Lambda School. “Their military experience gives them a sense of professionalism, teamwork and discipline that’s tough to find anywhere else. It’s an honor that, through this partnership with Shift, we can offer more veterans access to our programs, because we know they will make powerful and necessary additions to the tech workforce.”