Ep 141-142, June 2022:

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Today on Wisconsin veterans forward. Hey, we're back. I've missed all of you so, so much. I hope you've missed me. You know what? I don't hope you missed. I hope you have been enjoying your life. And all of your endeavors have been fruitful over the last few weeks and you haven't been pining after your weekly office hours fix my name's Adam I'm with the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce. In case you showed up here by accident or you lost or something pulled up a chairs stick around we're happy to see you. Look, we've been off for a few weeks. The end of the school year, everybody knows is just a crazy time of year. We've had a lot going on as an organization but you know what, we're back and we're ready to just just knock it out of the park here.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And today's gonna be a doozy. We're very excited to chat about this. We're gonna talk about e-sports yep. Video gaming, competitive video games and the ecosystem that surrounds it and supports it. And the opportunities that arise from the growth of this ecosystem for those of you that think that we're crazy here. The video game industry has exploded. It's continuing to explode. There are more opportunities than ever. It's still a very competitive field to, to get into whether you're developing games, you're working in the back office or you're, you're actually performing think of it a lot. Like any other sports organization, you know, like the, like an NFL team, it's not just the players, right? But you have the coaches, you have the, the, the, the, the travel managers, you have the Phila, philanthropic managers, you have the money folks, the, the hiring, the contracts, like the scouting.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

There's just, there's so much that goes into it. And this is very, there's a lot of parallels here. And, and like I said, eSports in particular is growing and it's competitive. Not just anybody can that, you know, if you're good at call a duty, it's not like, well, just join an eSports team. Sorry, it's really hard. That's like saying, like, I can catch a football. I'm gonna go be on the Packers, give me a break. It's very competitive. And a lot, like much like an NFL team or an NBA team, or an NHL team, major league baseball, those jobs that support those things. Cause people are passionate about sport and competition. Those jobs are competitive. They are fought over, but there's still a lot of opportunities there. And guess what? There are programs and movements to help transition veterans. There are many people that believe that your average veteran, your average GI Jane and Joe actually are well suited to working in sporting, whether it be NFL, traditional sports or e-sports video games and all of the stuff around it.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

There are a lot of people who believe strongly. And I agree with them that many veterans are well suited to that, to the pressures of those environments, to the high to the stringent demands of that industry. And there are programs right here in Wisconsin that seek to educate and help veterans and military family members transition into careers, not just in tech cuz it's tech month, right? Not just in tech, but specifically in the eSports and video gaming industry. How cool is that? It's amazing to think that something that you might be passionate about or you were passionate about as a kid, there are like, there are opportunities out there for you. You can make a career out of something that drives you or drove you or influenced you. Anybody that played video games a lot as a kid, I played a lot of video games as a kid.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I have like fond, nostalgic memories. None of the games that I played would be like in an eSports, anything just cuz they were all like RPGs, like final fantasy, like the, the first cartridge final fantasies on Nintendo and super Nintendo and stuff kind of slow. But like 90% of my childhood reading came from that. If somebody said, I want you to work for square Enix you know, so you can develop final fantasy games. I'd be like, sign me up where anyways, I'm rambling now because I'm excited about this. Abby Dietrich is here. She's a good friend of the chambers. She's with new horizons, which is a great organization. She's gonna tell you about, they work on educating people in closing gaps and knowledge for tech youth through adult. And they're working on tech employment pipeline programs for veterans that's flipping outstanding. So we're gonna get into it right after this brief, but nonetheless, very loud bumper video. You are listening to Wisconsin veterans forward. Wisconsin's premier audio resource for veterans, military families, veteran owned and veteran friendly businesses. Wisconsin veterans forward is brought to you by the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce at wiveteranschamber.org. Happy to introduce Abbey Diedrich from new horizons in Wisconsin. How are you?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

I'm great, Adam. Thank you. How are you?

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I'm fantastic. And you know what? I'm really excited about Mo more than anything you and I both have rather developed Sconnie accents

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

<Laugh> that we do yep. That we do.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

This is gonna be, this is gonna be a regular Hooten nanny. I'm ready for this. I did you get comments about your accent all the time? I get all the time. Yes

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

I yep. I I'm nasally and I am true Wisconsinite

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Embrace it. I think it's fantastic.

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Thank

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

You. So Abby, tell us about new horizons. What is it and what do you do with them?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Sure. So I have been in with new horizons since 2014. I am the director of our career development division. And so we primarily help individuals who are considered career starters, career changers or career enhancers go through not only it programs but also, you know, process improvement, human resources, project management, those types of things. So primary goal is just to help individuals get back up on their feet or advance further in their careers.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on. And, and, and so I did mention earlier and I hope I got this right. But your programs are these tech development programs and education programs that go from adults, whether they're they're new career seekers out of college they're career, transitioners all the way down to you have some youth programs coming up too, right?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Yeah. We're really excited. Primarily our audience that we have served has been the adult audience. And recently we're starting to help 8, 9, 10 plus year olds get into the tech industry and it's really all around this whole eSports space. So we're, I'm really excited to share what we're doing with not only the youth population, but the adult population as well.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And so, you know, career transitioners being a huge part of this, any veteran or anybody in the military or military advocacy or veteran advocacy ecosystem knows that military transition is like the buzzword and no one has cracked the code. I mean, everybody, it, it seems like everybody's working on it, but we're still trying to find the magic formula for this. So why eSports, why specifically veterans and careers in, in the eSports ecosystem?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Sure. So I actually was introduced to Brandon Chaker who is the co-founder of the Milwaukee eSports Alliance about two years ago. And I'm gonna be fully transparent. Esports was a foreign language to me. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that, you know, people were getting paid big dollars to play video games. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> so I, you know, full, full honesty. I learned a lot along the way. Thanks to Brandon who has educated me, but we, you know, we were putting our brains together as eSports is in its infancy right now, but is continuing to grow. And we were trying to figure out the best way that we could take individuals who are interested in tech and gaming as, you know, a hobby and something that they like to do and how we can apply that to the workforce.

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

So, you know, multiple jobs out there in relation to tech and eSports. So we created a workforce program that educates individuals, veterans, you know, kids about hardware and software of information technology, and then hardware and software of eSports. So our programs are, you know like I said, workforce development focused. Our goal is to get individuals jobs in those areas. Or maybe they become entrepreneurs maybe they design their own video games or, you know, are a Q and a for different organizations as contractors or anything along those lines. So it's been really exciting. We actually had 'em on green, former packer player attend our program in March. He's the eSports head coach at Lakeland. So we're just getting started really? Yes. Yeah. So

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I walked by that guy once he's like, you don't appreciate seeing on TV, just how incredibly powerful NFL players are. Yeah. I remember seeing him with his pads on, I was right next to him. It was like standing next to a Cly tale.

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

<Laugh>

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I mean, incredibly like super human Demi, God sort of like, if anyone that's been next to that guy knows that man, he was a beast. He was fun to watch too. Sorry, I digressed. No,

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

No. And he's just as nice as he is. Clyde's delish, so

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

<Laugh> yes. Right on. But

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Yeah, it's been cool.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So are these, are these opportunities really in Wisconsin? I mean, cuz 10 years ago this was like a Silicon valley or Tokyo exclusive, you know, right outside of that. Or, or maybe a few places in Europe were starting to, you know, the, the whole, what is it the PA L system of you know, like outside of that, are there opportunities here?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Yeah. so it's, it's interesting. You know, for, for once I feel like we're kinda ahead of the game you know, we are a sister company of over 300 other new horizons. We're locally owned and operated in Wisconsin, but we have over 300 other locations. And I have had more than probably 10 other new horizons organizations, specifically SoCal has been all over me about it. Like what are you doing with eSports? Like how, what so it's, you know, it's taking something that again, people are passionate about and putting it into the workforce and experience gaming, which is part of manpower group actually has I believe well over 50 quality assurance testing jobs in their gaming division. So, you know, mm-hmm, <affirmative> specifically, you know, experience Foley and Larner has reached out to me. Verizon has reached out to me. Verizon has actually sponsoring some of the PF U MPS youth students that we have for a summer camp. MPS foundations is sponsoring youth that we have for a summer camp. So it's hot and people are jumping on the bandwagon to help people who are interested in the eSports industry.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And this isn't really far removed for people who aren't really familiar with eSports, correct. Every single branch of our armed forces has developed their own eSports team similar to, you know, air force has a football team at the academy. They have, you know, they have all sorts of means by which to showcase the talent of their organization and to, to for outreach, for public relations and for recruiting to showcase the talent and the excellence in their programs to encourage people to enlist and to show the good that they're doing in the community. It is an important part of what our military does to continue to garner support from our community, which is really important. And eSports is no exception. I mean the, the military is notoriously late to the party on just about stinking, everything. And every branch has an eSports team. Maybe not space force.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I don't know if space force does. They, they either have one or it's in development and they're good too. And they, they, some of them got in trouble cuz they were crossing the line between gaming and recruiting <laugh> <laugh> which that's the military for you? The recruiters are absolutely ravenous. But aside from that, it should be some writing on the wall for all of you who are still doubtful that this is a legit thing. If the military is putting eSports teams together, you might wanna actually consider this a real thing. Am I, am I interpreting that correctly?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

100%, absolutely

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on. So what, what opportunities are there? Is it like I get to play call of duty all day and get paid to do it? Probably not. Right?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Correct. Nope. So what our, our program is essentially designed to tie in the Comilla a plus credential which is an industry recognized it certification in addition to eSports hardware and software. So the it portion is covering hardware and software of desktops, PCs essentially like help desk support type of role. And then the eSports portion coincides parallel to that where they're learning about, you know, the hardware and software of PCs, consoles, gaming systems. And again, being able to work with instructors one on one in a virtual setting like this and be able to learn and apply what they're taking to, you know, to the workforce. Majority 99% of our students who have taken any of our eSports workforce programs have been eligible and have been awarded funding through specific grants that are applicable or eligible to them in the state of Wisconsin. So we've literally taken individuals with zero background in it. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> and we've brought them from, you know, nothing or minimal knowledge of the space of eSports or it and educated them to where they are getting careers and opportunities in the workforce. So for those of you that, you know, may be out there who aren't sure of what's next, you know, for you. It's definitely something to, to consider because eSports is, is gonna continue to evolve and, and be in demand as well as information technology.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So that, and that really clarifies something for me. So this is, this is not necessarily, I mean, cuz there are a lot of coding boot camps out there, but this isn't a coding full stack development boot camp. No. So this would be less on the game development end of things. And more on the the platform facilitation end of things, right? The fact that people are connecting remotely wirelessly via land, via whatever, and facilitating that competitive ES sporting environment because having good, reliable, quick connections and responses and being able to support that is probably a pretty integral part of, of eSports. Is it, am I understanding that correctly?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Absolutely. Yep.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So I would assume that the CompTIA and those certifications that accompany those things, if, if you don't necessarily, if you're not, they're not niche and specific enough that if you don't land a gig in eSports, you're out to lunch, there are a lot, there are, this is some highly sought after credentials and qualifications, is that correct?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Correct. Yep. So there are when you look at the it space there's a lot of demand specifically and I'm just specifically gonna talk to Wisconsin. We are not the most tech savvy state. I love it. We all live here. We're passionate about it. But like we are in demand for cyber security analysts, cloud analysts, some of those higher level tech positions and what a lot of companies will do is take that help desk, desktop support person and train them internally into those roles. Because externally we don't see a lot of, you know, in high level cyber security analysts in Wisconsin. And if we do have them, they're already employed. So the help desk is constantly in demand. Like I am constantly having companies reach out to me like, Hey, who do you have for help desk roles or, or entry level it roles. And again, the eSports folks are good candidates, the entry level, it folks are good candidates. And I always tell people, once you get your foot in the door, sky's the limit where you wanna go, right? Mm-Hmm <affirmative> you go network security, project management there's a ton of different avenues. You can go once you get a kickstart,

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

How long is this program?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Yeah, so typically the program is about four weeks. So that's

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

It,

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

That's it? Yep. So the we've changed we're very flexible. Our organization is so we have access to over 1100 instructors on a national level that we can bring to Wisconsin through this online live platform. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> but then we also have a local Wisconsin instructor who has been delivering the cohorts that we've had in January and March. So typically it's about four weeks. Some individuals may take a little bit extra time to sit those credential exams, but they will come out with an industry recognized credential after completing an exam and a digital badge. I'm sure a lot of you, if you're on LinkedIn have seen those digital Credly badges. So we have badging and credentials for those folks that complete the programs.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So this is, this is a, the credentials and the certifications that somebody walks away with from this program are nationally recognized standard. People see that if they're in the know, they know that, you know what you're doing at least at a base level.

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Absolutely. Yep. So when I started in 2014 it was kind of like if you don't have a degree, you're kind of Sol <laugh> when it comes to the employment piece mm-hmm <affirmative> and things are changing. If you're on indeed or if you're on any of those you know job boards, mm-hmm <affirmative>, it is the, you know, associate's degree bachelor's degree or a certification or equivalent certification. So certifications are definitely becoming more in demand and aware as individuals who are unemployed may or may not have two or four years to go back to school and may just look at getting a four week credential to then get their foot in the door.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Absolutely. Well, let's talk about financing these things, cuz a lot of, you know, veterans, obviously you mentioned grants the first thing a veteran would ask is if they still have nine 11 post nine 11 GI bill eligibility, is that something that can be paid for through that? Or is it something that they'd hope to get through a grant program or talk me through that?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Sure. So right now new horizons of Wisconsin is in the process of getting approved through a couple of the different chapters to be able to help the veteran audience. Primarily if we have veterans coming through our programs right now, it is specifically grant funded through workforce innovation opportunity act the workforce advancement initiative. We actually have a connection with tech, for vets up in the Fox valley area where they're, you know, heavy on sponsoring some of our students. There's a veteran retraining grant that we use. So the post nine 11 GI bill isn't specific to new horizons, Wisconsin, but we have other alternative options to be able to help veterans and their families get into these programs without paying anything out of pocket.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So you're saying it be, you know, obviously every person's circumstance is unique and individual, but you're saying it's not unheard of that. A veteran will be able to go through this program and walk away with the certification at no cost to them,

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Correct? Yep. If they're eligible and approved and that's where our team comes in and helps coach them and connect them with our different partners. There's a lot of, like I said, a lot of different grants out there specifically since the pandemic governor Evers has a lot of different reskilling retraining initiatives in place. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> mm-hmm <affirmative> so we have a lot of those connections here in Wisconsin and we do, you know, we initially start out with career coaching determining where somebody wants to go for their career and their end goal work backwards with them on a program plan, connect them to workforce development, determine eligibility for funding. And then we go on our way to bring them through the program to employment

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on that sounds like a fantastic program. And I do have a do have a website here, career development solutions.com back slash N HWI e-sports and that'll take you right to that program and you can sign up to get more information or chat with somebody just from there.

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

Absolutely.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I would encourage all of you to, to reach out to them. If you're even curious about transitioning or interested in eSports or it peaks your interest because it, it you're, you're never too old for a career change. If you are post service, there's a good chance. Your first shot at a career after service is not gonna be your forever career. It's just, I mean, this, this, the data is against you. And so if you're in one of those positions and you're looking for a change, not only are these highly sought after skills, but they're lucrative. And if you can go through, instead of going back to school or getting a certification, like a, a longer tenured certification, if you can get something that will put money in your pocket and stability for you and your family, if you can get that situated in four weeks and not have to pay out of pocket for it, it sounds like a golden opportunity. Not only for you to transition if you're coming out of this service or if you're serving currently in a guard capacity, or if you've been out for a while, it, it, it, it just sounds like it makes sense. Abby, is there anything else that you'd like to share with us that we, that we didn't cover?

Abbey Diedrich - New Horizons WI:

You know, I think we, you know, we covered a lot of good information. I am here as a resource. Honestly, if somebody has questions, if they're unsure of where they wanna go, it is a scary, scary industry. Nobody likes <laugh> when things don't work mm-hmm <affirmative>. But I, you know, if there's anyone out there that just wants to chat, that's what my myself and my team do to help guide you in the right direction, whether it's new horizons or whether it's a different path we're just here to help

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Outstanding, well, Abby Dietrich from new horizons connect with her she's on LinkedIn. You can find her there and follow that link on the bottom. Abby, I'll ask you to just hang on the line for just a second. Absolutely. All right. Thank you so much. That was really cool. Every day we learn about new cool things that people have for veterans. I mean talk four week certification intensive, that gives you lucrative marketable skills, and it doesn't cause you anything outta pocket. If you are even thinking about making a career transition and network management, it stuff, eSports, if any of that interests you, oh, come on, you gotta check this out. You got, you have to check it out. And if you are looking to make a transition to anything, here's a, here's a good bit of advice. Friends. There are programs like this out there.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

You may not even know it's. It is shocking to me. How many people in Wisconsin don't know that Wisconsin has a state GI bill separate from the post nine 11 or the Montgomery Uhhuh. And you can use it on for, for all in-state schools and some other private schools for you and your dependence. A lot of people don't know that there are programs that are state sponsored. There are programs that are on the outside of it through places like new horizons. There are a billion programs out there. I argue that it's not that we don't have enough support for veterans, whether it's career support, financial support lifestyle support, family support. It's just that people don't know where to go. There's almost too many. It's hard to cut through the fog and know what's, what's, what's good and what's valuable and what's not predatory.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And what, you know, that's where we come in and we try to help highlight those things that are legit. And this is legit. But if you are thinking about something about making a transition in your life or your career, and you have a thought in the back of your head, that's like, eh, you know, I can't, I can't survive a transition financially, right now. You may not know. I mean, there could be five programs out there. There could be a program that gives you grant support for a re-certification and grant support to pay rent while you're re-certifying. There are training programs for, for skilled technicians in the trades where you can get paid to apprentice and collect GI bill benefits. Like folks don't assume that the support isn't there for you, because you could be talking yourself out of an opportunity or a change that could be fruitful or meaningful for you and your family. That's all I got. Thank you for listening to Wisconsin, veterans forward brought to you by the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce. Please visit us at wiveteranschamber.org. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave a rating and review in whatever platform you're listening through.