At the BlueSky Institute, administrators want their students to become future leaders at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, not just graduate from the 27-month program as entry level information technology professionals.
The program, which began in 2022 as a partnership with East Tennessee State University, was created to solve a companywide need for talent that could help support cybersecurity, coding, infrastructure and project management, Executive Director Bradley Leon said.
The BlueCross Information Technology team supports all user experience components between members and providers, he said. The insurance company offers online tools to find health care providers, estimate the cost of care before procedures and secure information exchange with health care providers.
“That’s why having a robust talent pipeline is so important to us, because everything that we do with members and with providers is enabled by technology,” he said in a video call. “Without the people behind that technology, we’re just not able to provide those services, so for us, it’s really the backbone of everything that we do.”
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‘Fast pace to adulting’: BlueSky Institute provides a free degree, support and a job to its students
Leon said there’s no other educational opportunity comparable to the BlueSky Institute, where students take classes on the insurer’s campus and online before receiving a bachelor’s degree without accumulating any debt. Students obtain work experience, completing a full year of paid internships, and receive a company job offer if they graduate on time, though they’re not required to accept it.