Best Startup
DCI Resources, LLC, founded in 2009, is a minority-owned Small Business, full-service information technology support & maintenance consulting services firm, Pearson VUE Authorized Test Center / Certiport Authorized Test Center, with headquarters located in HUBZone, New Haven (Hamden), Connecticut. DCI principals have 20+ years of multi-industry experience in delivering a wide range of IT services; software/hardware implementation, software development, business analysis, project management and IT training & education.
DCI Resources, LLC (The Learning Academy) – Training & Education Division: The Learning Academy was formed to meet demands of a much larger scope of services than the typical “One Stop Shop Center”. One such demand, as DCI generates an abundance of popularity from, is its Training & Education division. The Learning Academy features the latest Hi-Tech classrooms (In-Class and/or Virtual Learning Labs), our highly coveted (LME) Learning Management Environment, Authorized Public Testing Centers (featured at all locations), Industry Recognized and Industry Demanded “real time” IT training programs (tailored to the respective IT discipline). All training programs include career development / employment readiness (via our “Career Resources Center”), exam preparation, certification and licensure testing, group training for businesses, and one-on-one training for individuals pre-approved through supplemental funding source, i.e., corporate account, Department of Labor.
We provide/proctor onsite & remote (or virtual) testing for computer-based certification, re-employment assessments, and professional licensure exams. Staffed by certified and experienced instructors in respective fields of vocational education, DCI Resources offer classes for a multitude of career studies.
Tell us about yourself?
I have helped DCI develop a series of comprehensive – High-Tech Occupational / Employability Training programs, in response to requests to provide Cybersecurity Training services to clients to compete in today’s competitive employment environment. Through DCI’s entrepreneurial education, students are exposed to a corporate style setting, where the idea of self- sufficiency & thinking outside the box becomes a common theme. Students gain a full understanding of the work environment, prepare to make knowledgeable career choices, and educated to explore all opportunities. This sense of independence generates highly driven individuals and potential members of our workforce who now understand and appreciate the demands & responsibilities of employment in the IT field.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
To have more faith on decision-making. The more calculation is put into a project, the higher chances of success!
What problem does your business solve?
DCI has always maintained at least an 87 percent placement record of graduates through our various funding source organizations with benchmark-measured requirements, due to our impressive wheelhouse of IT placement firms, who maintain contact with our placement division on a daily basis. Our work has led to direct IT talent-pipelines for employers in the state of Connecticut.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
The way we think about learning and managing talent is undergoing a paradigm shift, due to the rapid changes occurring in technology. New innovations in training and learning technologies have completely changed the way we deliver instruction, develop course curriculum, monitor student performance, provide feedback and perform assessments for developing the talent of the future. In fact, we’ve developed our entire catalog of training material, in-house, so as to maintain a current “real time” approach to IT education, while still preparing students to pass exams that might feature less than current material.
What is your magic sauce?
Our Learning Management Environment (LME), with large repositories of digital textbooks, lecture slides, online whiteboard software, lab assignments, communication vectors for classes, homework materials, exams, quizzes, and integrated Learning Management Systems (LMS), is able to perform the needed Learning Resource Aggregation (LRA) that students need, to keep pace in the rapidly changing Information Technology space. Both students and instructors need to be able to quickly find and utilize the most up-to-date learning resources available on any given tech topic.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We look to continue as a high-performance, high-growth IT services firm, and acquire our Certified (8)a status and GSA IT 70 Schedule registration. With that said, we would like to see our advanced IT training efforts expand to more demographics in other states outside of Connecticut.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
At-Risk Youth – The Learning Academy has developed a Youth program and applied its curricula and IT training model to a program entitled YouthWorks.
Through skills training, career coaching, and job search services, DCI’s YouthWorks Program helps young adults in low-income regions of Connecticut discover a path to employment and the skills required to keep a job.
Advanced IT Certification Training, paired with paid internships with employer partners, assists youth in obtaining valuable work experience and developing the professional skill for the job market. Another key facet of YouthWorks is the provisioning of transportation assistance, training materials, mentoring and other support services that will help young adults successfully complete the program.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We are seeking to form teaming relationships/collaborations/partnerships/joint ventures to provide high-quality and competitive IT services to the U.S. Government.
As a Minority-Owned Managed Services Provider (MSP), we are also able to assist organizations in meeting supplier diversity goals and benchmarks. The benefits of partnering with DCI can include:
– Tax incentives, rebates
– Fulfillment of federal supplier diversity requirements
– More flexibility than larger suppliers
– Competitive advantage within new minority markets
If an organization’s Supplier Diversity Program is proactively establishing a diverse community of IT services providers, they can reach out to us at procurement@dciresourcesllc.com.
