IT & Cybersecurity FoundationsYour First Cert. Your Next Career.
Twelve weeks of free, hands-on IT training built around a father's real life. Earn your CompTIA Tech+, stand inside a working data center, and walk out with a credential, a portfolio, and a room full of people in your corner. IT is the first track. HVAC, auto, and the trades are next.
Duration
12 weeks
Format
Hybrid (in-person labs + online)
Schedule
Evenings & Saturdays, built around work and kids
Credential
CompTIA Tech+ certification prep
Cost
Free for qualifying participants
IT & Cybersecurity Foundations is the flagship program inside Father Forward, built on one belief: the fastest way to change a family's future is to hand its father a real career. Right now, that career is IT. You'll earn your CompTIA Tech+, learn how networks actually run the world, stand inside a working data center, and see the road from help desk to network and systems engineer laid out clearly in front of you.
Every week brings guest speakers who do this work today, a leadership thread on goals, money, and showing up for your kids, and Travis, our AI mentor, on call around the clock. It's completely free, and IT is only the first track. HVAC, auto and EV, and the skilled trades are coming next.
For a company, this is more than goodwill. It's a pipeline of certified, motivated talent and a direct line into the neighborhoods you say you want to reach. Sponsor a cohort, send a speaker, or hire a graduate, and your name goes on a father's fresh start.
This is for you if any of this sounds like you.
You're a father who wants a career, not just a job, and you're ready to show up for it.
You've never worked in tech, and you're the one your family calls when the Wi-Fi goes down.
You need training that fits around a shift and a bedtime, not the other way around.
You want your kids to watch you build something real.
Right now, this one’s about IT. The trades are next.
IT & Cybersecurity
CompTIA Tech+ certification, networks, data centers, and security. The runway from help desk to network and systems engineer.
You walk out CompTIA Tech+ certified and job-ready.
Expanding Soon
- Auto & EV MechanicsComing Soon
- HVAC & Building SystemsComing Soon
- Plumbing & Skilled TradesComing Soon
Know a trade? Help us build it.
If you’re a father who’s mastered HVAC, auto, plumbing, or another trade and you want to teach the next man up, we want to hear from you.
Reach out to usPlotted week by week, built to finish.
MilestoneWeek 1
Foundations & Your Path Forward Plan
- Orientation: what a real IT career actually looks like
- How the internet works, top to bottom
- Build your Path Forward Plan with your case worker
- Meet Travis, your 24/7 AI mentor
Week 2
Computer Hardware
- Inside the machine: components and assembly
- Peripherals, mobile devices, and storage
- The troubleshooting method techs actually use
- Leadership thread: goals, habits, and accountability
Week 3
Operating Systems
- Windows administration, hands-on
- Linux and the command line, made simple
- Files, users, and permissions
- Leadership thread: money talk, financial literacy for fathers
Week 4
Networking + Guest Speakers
- How networks move data (TCP/IP and the OSI model, made simple)
- Wi-Fi, switches, and routers
- Guest speaker: how they broke into IT
- Leadership thread: asking questions like you belong (you do)
Week 5
Hands-On Labs
- Build and configure a real network
- Stand up and share a small server
- Break it, fix it, document it
- Leadership thread: communication and conflict resolution
MilestoneWeek 6
Inside the Data Center
- Field trip: where the internet actually lives
- Racks, cabling, cooling, and uptime
- What the jobs in that building really pay
- Leadership thread: showing your kids what work looks like
Week 7
Security & the Cloud
- Security fundamentals and staying safe online
- Intro to the cloud (AWS and Azure basics)
- Where AI fits into the IT job
- Leadership thread: being the example your kids study
Week 8
Beyond Help Desk
- The road: help desk to network engineer to systems engineer
- What comes after Tech+ (A+, Network+, and up)
- Specializing: security, cloud, or infrastructure
- Leadership thread: thinking two moves ahead
MilestoneWeek 9
Tech+ Certification Prep I
- CompTIA Tech+ deep prep and practice exams
- Knock out the topics that scare you
- Study crew sessions: nobody preps alone
- Leadership thread: handling pressure without passing it down
Week 10
Tech+ Prep II & Portfolio
- Practice exams until they stop being scary
- Portfolio: document what you can actually do
- Mock interviews with industry volunteers
- Leadership thread: telling your story with confidence
Week 11
Career Launch
- Resume and LinkedIn built with AI tools
- Meet employers and apprenticeship programs face to face
- Negotiation: know your worth, then ask for it
- Leadership thread: legacy planning
MilestoneWeek 12
Graduation & Beyond
- Capstone: present what you built
- Graduation ceremony: bring the kids, they earned this too
- Alumni network and continued mentorship
- Your next cert, on the calendar before you leave
Not promises. Proof.
CompTIA Tech+
Certification prep and exam support for CompTIA Tech+, your first real credential in tech.
Path Forward Plan
A personal roadmap covering career, family, and finances, built with your case worker and tracked with Travis.
A Crew for Life
Your cohort, our alumni network, guest speakers who take your calls, and mentors who've walked the same road.
Job-Ready Portfolio
Resume, interview reps, and direct introductions to employers and apprenticeship programs.
I came in not knowing what an IP address was. Twelve weeks later I passed my Tech+ and my son watched me walk across a stage. Now he tells everybody his dad works in tech.
Marcus J.
IT & Cybersecurity Foundations Graduate
The stuff you’re actually wondering.
I've never worked in IT. Am I already behind?
You're right on time. We start at zero: no degree, no experience, no jargon. Most of our fathers walk in not knowing what an IP address is and walk out certified.
What does it cost?
Nothing, for qualifying participants. No tuition, no hidden fees. We're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your only investment is showing up.
I work full-time. When are classes?
Evenings and Saturdays, built around real life. You've got a shift and kids. The schedule bends to you, not the other way around.
What do I actually walk away with?
A CompTIA Tech+ certification, a portfolio, interview reps, and real introductions to employers, plus a crew and mentors who don't disappear at graduation.
For Partners & Sponsors
Put your company in the room. Sponsor this program, send a speaker, or host the visit.
For Fathers · Free for qualifying participants
Ready for IT & Cybersecurity Foundations? The door is open.
Applications are open now. One step through, and you’re not walking alone anymore.
Every program carries the same thread: leadership, family, future tech.