Rodrigo Lima da Silva, today’s guest blogger, is a training analyst at Dasa.
At Dasa, we operate the largest integrated health network in Brazil. Our work touches the lives of more than 20 million people a year. We approach health management in preventive, predictive and personalized ways.
As we’ve made major investments in digital transformation, the entire company has become more agile and efficient. We’re using data intelligence to generate value up and down the healthcare chain, and we’re making the patient’s journey more fluid. By embracing the latest technologies, we strive to be innovative; we see ourselves as rapidly advancing as we combine data intelligence combined with medical expertise.
All of this is to say our people need to always be aware of new technologies. When COVID-19 hit, this became even more important. At the same time, the increasingly competitive job market made it more difficult than ever to recruit qualified employees.
Keeping People Current
With these needs and challenges in mind, we created the Dasa Academy of Technology in July 2021. The Academy is now a key part of our corporate Dasa University with a mission to keep our tech talent — as well as administrative and frontline, deskless employees — current with the latest skills. The Academy offers certifications that meet the needs of our people and future projects. The creation of other, similar internal academies has followed. And I’m happy to note support from senior leadership has been a major force driving this success.
Degreed plays a major role in powering the success of our tech academy. In partnership with Degreed and numerous content providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Alura, we created Pathways that feature content and learning programs covering soft and hard skills. Degreed provides the “front door” through which we deliver all of this learning.
Recently, we launched the first cohort of our “Forma Tech” initiative, a learning program in which participants can develop new skills of their choosing in application and website back- and front-end development as well as quality assurance. Offered through the tech academy, the first round of the program served 14 men and 12 women from different parts of the company including Radiology, Reception and even Maintenance. The experience provided each one of these people with an opportunity for career advancement previously unavailable.
The eight-week program was conducted 100% online, making it available to people from different parts of Brazil. At the centerpiece of the curriculum were Degreed-powered Pathways structured by the leaders of each subject area. The program also included group and individual mentoring, lectures and, at the end, evaluation of a completed project — for example, by using React Native, JavaScript, GraphQL and more to create a login screen and perform tests.
Career Growth
The Forma Tech opportunity opened big doors for Gerson da Costa Dias, a digital technology analyst.
“Thanks to this program, I am now part of the Quality Assurance team,” da Costa Dias said. “I never imagined that I could one day work with what I dreamed of. Thanks to Dasa University, I did it. I have no words to describe my immense gratitude.”
As our L&D leader Bianca Develly, Organizational Development Superintendent, has often said: “Dasa has more than 50,000 talents and it is up to us to provide opportunities for them to develop and grow with us. For this, we need to know your individual needs to promote the best learning journeys and to make this process personalized and on a large scale. We need a partner that supports us with technology, which is why the partnership with Degreed is so strategic for our education strategy.”
Looking Ahead
Today, we’re excited about a larger Forma Tech cohort, and we already have several employees from across Brazil eager to participate representing roles in finance, laboratory unit reception and radiology. This makes us immensely happy — and we’re grateful for the supportive role Degreed will play once again.
Expanding Forma Tech with the help of online learning shows we’re following through on our commitment to be present in the daily lives of our employees, facilitate development journeys, promote new skills and help our people keep the world healthy.