“[We’ve] been working closely with AAWDC for quite some time through various workforce initiatives. From serving on committees to helping build the largest collaborative group AAWDC has hosted, the partnership has been a natural fit for supporting both the business community and Cheaper Than A Geek directly…

At Cheaper Than A Geek, we’ve been fortunate to experience growth, but like many in the IT services space, finding and developing talent fast enough to meet demand has always been a challenge. Our growth also positioned us to take on bigger projects and collaborations, which increased the need for strong, reliable team members even more…

We needed a way to not just find talent, but to get new hires productive and confident quickly. It wasn’t just about filling seats—it was about smart, sustainable growth. We wanted to invest in the right people and give them the tools and experience they needed to thrive in a real-world IT environment.

AAWDC introduced us to their On-the-Job Training (OJT) program, which was a perfect match for what we needed. It allowed us to bring on new hires and immediately start training them with financial support to offset the initial onboarding and skill development costs. This gave us the freedom to invest more time and resources into developing these team members properly without having to rush the process.

Thanks to the support through OJT, we’ve been able to onboard new talent more efficiently and focus on building a team that fits our customer-first culture. We’ve seen faster ramp-up times, stronger retention among new hires, and a smoother transition into client-facing roles. It’s helped us scale in a way that protects the level of service our clients expect, and it’s strengthened our workforce for future growth.” — Christopher Barber, Chief Nerd/Owner