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JetBrains Academy for Teams: How to Pitch It to Your Manager

As a passionate coder using JetBrains Academy, you already know the incredible benefits of our project-based learning platform. Now imagine amplifying those benefits across your entire team.

Here is why and how you should pitch JetBrains Academy for Teams to your employer.

Why professional development is essential

In the ever-evolving world of tech, keeping up is essential, but staying ahead is even
better. Here’s why investing in learning can be a game-changer for you and your team:

• Close skill gaps: 45% of engineering companies struggle with skill gaps. Upskilling can bridge these gaps, ensuring your team is prepared for new projects and initiatives.
• Enhance engagement and retention: 94% of employees say they would stay longer at a company that invests in their careers. Investing in training can boost morale and reduce turnover.
• Facilitate smooth transitions: Whether onboarding new hires or preparing for tech stack migrations, continuous learning ensures smoother transitions and internal transfers.

Explore your company’s professional development opportunities

Before you make your pitch, it’s a good idea to сheck out what professional development and learning opportunities your company already offers. This can help you frame your request in a way that aligns with existing initiatives. Maybe your company already has a budget for training or a process for approving new tools and resources.

Find out who is the right person to talk to about the approval process. Is it your direct manager, the HR department, or someone else? Once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to make a more informed and strategic pitch.

Structure your pitch

1. Highlight what you’re learning and its impact

Start by sharing your personal experience with JetBrains Academy. Explain what you’ve been learning and how it has benefited your current work or future professional goals.

For example:
Maxim, while working in Product Management, decided to learn Python through JetBrains Academy. He completed the Python with Algorithms for Tech Interviews and Python Backend Developer with Flask tracks.

The hands-on projects and personalized study plans made it easy to grasp new concepts and apply them. After a few months, he felt confident enough to apply for the Junior Python Developer role at his company and transferred to the development team.

2. Explain why JetBrains Academy is the right choice

So, why JetBrains Academy? For starters, JetBrains Academy taps into JetBrains’ more than 20 years of experience in creating developer tools. JetBrains is trusted by 90 of the Fortune Global Top 100 companies. Chances are good that your company is already using some of our tools for development, which ensures seamless integration and a familiar environment.

JetBrains Academy offers project-based learning tracks, which are hosted on the Hyperskill platform and backed by JetBrains tools. This means your team will be able to put new knowledge into practice by creating real-world applications while working with professional tools they’ll use daily.

Now, let’s get to the part where you’re pitching the idea to the whole team. You could say:

“Imagine if our whole team had access to this! We could all benefit from the seamless integration with the IDEs we already use. Learning how to use the tools is as important as learning how to code. Plus, each of us would get a personalized study plan, so we could learn at our own pace and level.”

Emphasize the key features that would be beneficial for your whole team:

Integration with JetBrains IDEs	Your team develops their skills in the same IDE editors they use daily.
Personalized learning paths	Each team member receives a tailored study plan, progressing at a pace that reinforces knowledge effectively.
Organizational dashboard	Track team progress and comply with privacy policies, ensuring a secure and efficient learning environment.
SSO and free course creation	Simplify access with single sign-on and create custom courses to align with your company’s specific needs.
Certificates of completion	Motivate and recognize your team’s achievements with personalized certificates.

3. Real-life benefits for the team

Think about how different parts of your organization could benefit. Here are a few use cases your team lead might consider:

• Upskilling tech support, QA departments, or junior developers.
• Getting ready for new projects that require skills the team currently lacks.
• Assisting non-IT employees in gaining a basic understanding of technical skills, useful for collaboration with tech departments.

Encouraging your manager to invest in a team-wide subscription to JetBrains Academy can elevate your entire team’s performance and morale.

Use these tips to structure your pitch and highlight the awesome benefits of continuous learning with JetBrains Academy. Good luck!

If you have any questions or would like to share your feedback, feel free to leave a comment below or contact us at academy@jetbrains.com.

Happy learning!

Your JetBrains Academy team