SAS and Handshake connect early-career analytics talent with eager employers

@SASsoftware is collaborating with @joinHandshake, the leading career community for college students in the US, to help meet the growing demand for SAS analytics skills.

Research from Emsi, a labour market analytics firm, shows a 30% increase in job postings seeking SAS skills over the last three years. The Handshake collaboration addresses this demand from SAS customers.

With students from more than 900 US colleges and universities, Handshake makes it easy for SAS customers to find early-career analytics talent in their backyards and across the nation.

“We know from our customers that one of their most pressing needs is finding talent with the right analytics skills,” said Lynn Letukas, Director of SAS Global Academic Programs.

“Having the right people, armed with SAS skills, is a competitive advantage. Our relationship with Handshake will help provide that.”

SAS skills are in high demand across industries. Major companies in banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and government agencies in all 50 states use SAS to optimise their business in AI, machine learning, cloud and IoT. Handshake helps some of the nation’s most well-known companies, including all of the Fortune 500, increase the hiring of quality early-career talent.

“Handshake is committed to helping students of all backgrounds find jobs and launch meaningful careers,” said Christine Cruzvergara, Vice President of Higher Education and Student Success at Handshake. “Employers recognise the need to recruit a diverse candidate pool from across the nation but often struggle to meet their goals. We’re excited to collaborate with SAS to help students and employers easily discover opportunities and talent across the nation.”

The SAS Academic Programs team is working with students at college and universities across the US to create profiles highlighting their SAS skills. According to Letukas, employers should look to Handshake to target, reach and recruit young talent, just like SAS did.

“Naturally, we also seek out bright, early-career SAS talent to bring on board, she said. Handshake has helped us find and attract tremendous contributors to the company. I encourage our customers to turn to Handshake to find their next, great hire with SAS skills.”

When Alex Chan, a graduate of Rutgers University, was searching for job opportunities, Handshake led him south to SAS, where he helps develop software used by banks and governments to fight fraud and crime.

“One of the really cool things about the Handshake platform is that users can filter down to different types of jobs based on where they’re at in their career,” said Chan.

“If it hadn’t been for Handshake, I may not have ever known about the position or about the job opportunities available to me down in North Carolina.”

Today’s announcement was made at SAS Global Forum, the world’s premier analytics conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference is being held virtually.