Qwasar Silicon Valley specializes in tech talent training, particularly programs that are affordable and high quality. We have a long-standing relationship with Claris, an Apple subsidiary, to help train and develop tech talent specialized in using their FileMaker app development platform. Qwasar and Claris developed a focused training track to learn and use the FileMaker platform. Cohorts go through the training track 2-3 times per year, and each cohort concludes with a hiring event or recruitment day. Claris Business Partners are invited to attend the recruitment event and find it a significant source of quality young talent trained in FileMaker.
This track and program has one of the highest employment rates thanks to Claris and the role they play in training and in gathering employer partners in need of talent. It is one of the most successful ways of entering into the tech industry with employers who have great reputations as companies.
By partnering with Claris to offer tech talent training programs, we have been able to provide opportunities to many of our students. The 8-week program enables students to become fully knowledgeable in the FileMaker platform and design integrated applications such as a customized inventory management system or a customized event and attendee management system. Through the program’s continued success in the past months, many students have received employment offers at Claris Business Partner companies. With this specialized training in low-code app development, students of all backgrounds can take advantage of new opportunities for career development. New cohorts for the Claris FileMaker program are planned for 2022 and we can’t wait to see the success of future students.
In this article, we do a deep dive into the program to help potential students understand more about the program, how it works, and the employment opportunities.
Who is Claris and What is FileMaker?
Claris is an Apple subsidiary who owns and maintains the FileMaker platform as well as a collection of other products related to app development and deployment. Claris International Inc. is the creator of the world’s leading rapid, low-code development platform, offering a suite of services that empower problem solvers to drive digital transformation in businesses large and small. The company has more than 1.3 million active users globally across SMBs and the Fortune 500. Claris is an Apple subsidiary headquartered in California with operations worldwide, including London, Paris, Munich, Tokyo, Beijing, and Sydney.
FileMaker Pro is the name of the major product of Claris. It is the name of the app development platform that controls the front-end (what the app looks like and its design), the back-end (the database and what happens when you click on a button or submit a form), and all sorts of integrations, triggers, calculations, automations, and more. You could build any of the following using FileMaker Pro:
- A project management app
- An invoice management system
- An inventory management system
- An event planning system
Some of the apps built on Claris include:
- City of Florissant city occupancy permit system
- Bass Pro Shop’s creative asset management system
- Archeologists in the field of the Jericho Mafjar Project recording ancient walls, artifacts, and discoveries
- Coca-Cola Andina’s (in Chile) project management system for their IT department
Claris also has a thriving community for support and learning with more than 50,000 developers, and 1,400 global Partners providing powerful solutions to customers around the world.
Program Curriculum Part 1: Full Stack Fundamentals
Qwasar’s Claris App Development program focuses on front-end and back-end development, as well as fundamentals in data structures and algorithms. Our comprehensive partner program with Claris is entirely project-based, meaning learners develop a technical portfolio as well as desired hard and soft skills. This program is part of our partnership with Claris and the wider Claris Developer community as well as the Claris Business Partner Alliance, including a group of companies who actively hire program graduates as Claris Developers and Interns.
Learners will cover fundamental computer programming concepts including arrays, strings, algorithms, data structures, and software architecture, Javascript, HTML, CSS, SQL, and database design. Learners may elect to complete further study in some C programming as well as more advanced full stack development covering Ruby, Ruby on Rails, SQLite, shell, scripting, PHP, and more. After completing the full stack fundamentals, learners can begin the second part of the curriculum, focusing on FileMaker.
Program Curriculum Part 2: The Claris FileMaker Training Track
This intense 8-week program will teach you from the ground up and is designed to be a full-time workload during these 8 weeks. It will involve accomplishing major milestones throughout the course of the program while attending virtual learning sessions, group Q&A and office hours each week. Students should be prepared for 30+ hrs/week with sessions occurring Mon - Fri during business hours. This platform is used to help companies make custom apps and you will do exactly that during this program. Over the course of the program, you will:
- Build 3 large scale FileMaker applications
- Attend weekly sessions led by an experienced FileMaker Dev
- Have time for 1-on-1 office hours and project support
- Be paired with an industry mentor
During the course of the program, the curriculum consists of building 3 mid-scale FileMaker applications that will increase in difficulty as you progress. The escalating difficulty of these app challenges prove how quickly your knowledge is increasing. The capstone project at the end involves building a city park/utility management service which involves keeping track of potholes, fallen trees with account tickets, and building a fully functioning product. This is a real world project that happens in industry, exposing students to true software projects. You will attend weekly sessions led by an experienced FileMaker Dev that increases in technical nature each week based on the projects being completed.
Learners are also expected to complete 10-20 technical interview role plays to prepare for real job interviews, and undergo resume and cover letter reviews similar to peer code reviews.
Overall, our Claris App Developer program is designed to train learners to Silicon Valley standards in Claris app development with an emphasis on structured problem solving, critical thinking, and extensive preparation for meeting employer demands for entry-level jobs.
Entry Requirements for the Claris Program
In order to be eligible for the Claris FileMaker program, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of completion of the pre-season track as well as the Claris track. In addition, your resume should be ready and reviewed with any necessary edits having been made. Your LinkedIn profile should also be reviewed and finalized before the program. Lastly, you must have a computer that can run FileMaker Pro. The license will be provided to you. These requirements ensure that candidates are set up for success within this program and are capable of getting the most out of it.
The First Cohort: How 7 Students Achieved Success
In the first cohort of the Claris FileMaker program, there were 7 students in total. Upon program completion, 6 students already received job offers. Since the program is built from the ground up, it is a very intensive training for 7 weeks. Those that excel are those that enjoy the creative aspect of building a user interface, having users interact with what you create, and the technical aspect. 100% of the students were from minority backgrounds or women.
Mentors within the Claris Program
Towards the second part of the program, you will be paired with a Claris mentor who is a volunteer from the Claris developer community. We work with various nonprofits and organizations for volunteers who want to support people pursuing a career in the tech industry, especially those who learn the Claris platform. Learners will meet with their mentors virtually once a week to check-in on their work, progress, and career preparations such as resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and technical interviews. Mentors are an integral part of success within our programs and allow students the confidence and capability to further develop soft skills like communication and networking.
Is This Program For Me?
If you like working with people, solve problems collaboratively, are looking to get into the tech industry and a stable job is important to you, are interested in full-stack development or web development, aren’t such a fan of advanced back-end programming, have a creative or artistic background, or have a good eye for design, especially when applied to apps and websites, then this is a great program for you!
If, however, you really love backend programming, structured problem solving, C, C++, or algorithms, then Qwasar has other opportunities to which you would be better suited.
Resume Review and Interview Preparation
An important component of the program is developing a solid resume and refined LinkedIn profile. By preparing in advance for technical interviews, students are more confident and perform better. We focus on ensuring students are able to present themself and what they are capable of to a recruiter. This is not an innate skill which is why our students learn how to effectively interview and communicate. This is an expectation to be a significant part of the program when you join. There is less of emphasis on Github for Claris, as they focus on different aspects. Project portfolios are put together to send off to employers, making it more concise. There is time for revisions and customizations within the program during the interview preparation phase. Mock interviews are unique and focus more on showcasing and doing reviews on Claris projects.
Getting Hired After the Program
During the course of the program, students are invited to networking and hiring events that allow you to showcase your projects that you built. They also attend “Speed Networking” style events where they will meet companies 1 on 1. The interviews for program graduates will start immediately following the event. Prior to this event, we will help you: refine your resume, refine your LinkedIn, and practice mock interviews. In the most recent cohort, 6 out of 7 students received employment offers, making an 85% employment rate for the program.
Before this event, we will help you:
- Refine your resume
- Refine your LinkedIn
- Practice mock interviews
Companies from the first cohort included:
- Skeleton
- Soliant
- MC Services
- Fullcity consulting
- Harmonic
- DBservices
How Qwasar and Claris Are Changing Diversity in Tech in the Claris Community
In partnership with Claris, we share the same commitment to diversity within our programs. Claris CEO Brad Freitag notes, “Closing the massive IT skills gap facing so many businesses and increasing diversity in the tech industry can't happen without broader access to training and technology. Qwasar and Claris are both committed to removing barriers by combining solid workforce education with a low-code platform that helps strengthen learners' skills in app development." Through our partnership, we are offering opportunities and accessible training to anyone that is interested in learning to code.
Part of this program includes a special focus on personal growth and development and aims to get more minorities and people of color into the tech industry. Low-code app development is a great way to start your career and get into well paying jobs without a computer science degree. Our first cohort was entirely comprised of women, minorities, and people of color, and our second cohort is almost entirely minorities as well. This occurred quite naturally and thanks to Qwasar’s partnership with Cañada College at Menlo Park, and we are delighted to see the program creating real opportunities for underrepresented populations to get into well-paying tech jobs and long-term careers.
Talent and Pipeline Goals of the Program
Students are already beginning to enroll in the next cohort which began mid-February, 2022. Some of the pre-requisites to apply are that you have completed the Qwasar preseason and the Claris prerequisite track. Cohort grew by 100% compared to the first cohort. We are so excited for the growth potential of future Claris cohorts, and all that students will accomplish in the coming months.
Our goal is to double, and double again the cohort size for the rest of 2022 and throughout 2023 so that we’re providing a strong source of talent for finding FileMaker developers. We are expecting a student cohort size of 25, 50, and possibly 100 for the next three cohorts, respectively. In total, we are targeting the 50 to 100 range per cohort long-term depending on talent demand from our partners and employees.
There are at least 25 companies interested in taking anywhere from 1 to 4 program graduates per cohort. Some may take 5 given their own company growth and business demand. Our employer partners have been incredible and our goal is to serve them well with the talent they need. This is a unique situation that results in a win for students, win for employers, win for Qwasar, and win for Claris. Everyone benefits from expanding technical talent training opportunities to all people and filling gaps in technical jobs.
