Amsterdam-based Blue Road Academy (formerly RefugeeForce) aims to create a global movement for newcomers to launch their careers in the Salesforce ecosystem. The goal is to change the perceptions of employers, organizations, and the public on the experience and skills that newcomers bring with them to build new lives in their host country.
Our classroom-based, personalized programs help newcomers gain the technical skills they need to start their Salesforce careers, pair them with 1-on-1 mentorship and job coaching, and build a network of like-minded professionals to find opportunities in the job market. After the program, we work to create successful employment opportunities with our network of Salesforce partners, customers, and employers.
About the Rebrand
For nearly four years, we have worked to create lasting social impact through our program for the people whom we serve. However, we recognize that many still face challenges due to a highly stigmatized landscape, discrimination in hiring practices, and misconceptions about talent.
This is why we, like many organizations, chose to remove the word ‘refugee’ from our brand and materials. We believe that it is not our role to broadly define our participants, but to amplify who they want to be as a partner in their future. Ultimately, it is not our story to tell and we want to position our alumni with the best chance of securing their first role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Blue Road Academy
At Dreamforce, the story of Sima Samara, one of our Alumni from 2019, was showcased. After completing the program, she went on to work for one of our partners, Eurofiber, and is now a senior Salesforce Developer at Capgemini.
While Sima is truly unique, we have many participants like her go on to achieve wonderful things after completing our program and landing a job in the Salesforce ecosystem. This is our goal – to support newcomers with free training and direct connections so they might get their life back on track, on their own terms.
Our award-winning training program includes 20 technical training sessions covering all aspects of the Salesforce Administrator Exam, plus scenarios, team exercises, and best practices. All sessions take place in a classroom setting, three days per week. In addition to the technical training, we also provide soft skills sessions and a professional panel of Salesforce Administrators, Consultants, and Developers working in the ecosystem. All participants are paired 1-on-1 with Salesforce mentors to help them plan their career path into the ecosystem and focus on passing their Certification exams.
What Does the Future Hold?
Building a new brand and identity is one of the key steps in accelerating our delivery as a global training provider and recruitment partner. Our aim is to train 10,000 newcomers by 2030. We are currently running programs in the UK, Netherlands and Germany, with plans to launch in new countries in the EU where there is a need and demand for our program and services.
“We embrace change and progress. Our programs and our organization are dedicated to incredibly resilient individuals who are faced with a complex transformation. We have always shared this burden with them. With this re-brand, we take an important step in our evolution in line with our mission. Change is not always easy, but we are fully up for this challenge.”
– Co-Founder & Managing Director, Gaspar Rodriguez
Final Thoughts
We look forward to this new chapter so that we may best represent who we are and also our community of participants, alumni, partners, donors, customers, trainers, mentors, and friends.
If you want to get involved as a Trainer or a Mentor, or if you want to hire from our Alumni pool, find us at www.blueroadacademy.com.
