TechFluent's latest training cohort gains momentum on Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365

TechFluent Academy's newest training cohort is hitting its stride. Six weeks in, participants are deep into sessions on Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, Power Platform, Power BI, and Fabric, gaining skills they can soon put to work. 

As a nonprofit, TechFluent focuses on helping people from underserved communities build technology careers and close income gaps. Their newest group of learners is showing a strong interest from people who are eager for hands-on experiences, the group’s leaders tell MSDW.

"The students that have stuck with it really like the in-person teaching," says Carol Smock, executive director at the Minneapolis-based TechFluent. "They're finding that it's helpful to have those instructors in the room with them, able to be hands-on and working through labs and exercises live and side by side."

A unique learning community takes shape

The current cohort brings together learners from many educational backgrounds and stages of life. The program has attracted everyone from recent high school graduates to college graduates with bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as professionals who have "essentially lost their first career and are having to remake themselves with a second career," Smock explains. "All three [educational levels] are equally bright and talented," 

What all 25 participants have in common is their excitement about learning and their interest in artificial intelligence. When asked what excites students the most, Smock didn’t hesitate: "AI. Everything is about AI. All they want to know is: 'How can I make AI work for me? How can I make a career out of AI?'"

Initially, there were 38 learners in the program; however, the decrease from 38 to 25 participants doesn’t mean the program is struggling. As Smock explains, students have left primarily due to employment conflicts — some couldn't maintain the commitment because of work obligations, while others actually found full-time employment as the program began. "So they left for good reasons," she says.

Spanning twenty-four weeks of coursework followed by six weeks of Capstone Project Work, the program has already equipped students with substantial technical knowledge. In their first six weeks, participants have mastered the basics of the Microsoft Dataverse and relational databases, learned to create and move solutions across different Power Platform environments, and gained expertise in basic configurations, business rules, business process flows, and workflows within the CRM environment. They've also learned to package these elements into model-driven apps and build canvas apps.

Students will also be prepare for certifications in two of three areas: D365 Customer Experience, Power Platform, or Power BI.

Expert instruction drives success

The quality of instruction has always been a key part of TechFluent’s program success. For this cohort, the organization has assembled an impressive roster of educators, including Microsoft MVPs and other seasoned consultants with a minimum of five years' hands-on experience with the technologies.

"They know the ins and outs of the product and can answer questions and help navigate the students through daily usage pretty easily," Smock said. 

The instructors have been equally impressed with their students. The students have proved themselves to be “sponges” for information, and they are showing genuine excitement about the mutual respect that has developed in the classroom environment, she said.

In 2022, TechFluent graduated 12 participants with D365 CE/Power Platform certifications. The following year, 18 more earned the same credential. About 60 percent of the graduates from those two cohorts went on to secure jobs, according to the organization’s findings.

In 2024, TechFluent graduated 56 participants who trained across three Microsoft certification tracks: D365 CE/Power Platform, Power BI data analytics, and ERP. They began sitting for their exams in January 2025, with some earning more than one certification.

New leadership brings unique perspective

TechFluent has also added a much-needed new program director. Joshua Shold joined on August 4th, and brings a blend of entrepreneurial experience, financial industry expertise, and personal understanding of the challenges facing underserved communities. Growing up in North Minneapolis in "an inner-city household with two disabled parents," Shold told MSDW he has a deep personal connection to the program's mission.