IBTCareers - Institute of Business & Technology Careers

What IBTCareers - Institute of Business & Technology Careers does

IBTCareers (legal entity Institute of Business & Technology Careers LLC) is a private, for-profit vocational training institution incorporated in Illinois in 2010 and headquartered in downtown Chicago at 200 N. Lasalle, with operations delivered through both physical classroom facilities and a virtual live-online channel. The school instructs students across five career program tracks - Business Administration, Business Management, Creative & Digital Arts, Health & Information Technology, and Information Technology - preparing them for over 40 industry-recognized certifications from vendors including Microsoft, AWS, Cisco, Adobe, CompTIA, Google, and Salesforce. Its core technology stack is a proprietary Learning Management System with over 80,000 courses that supports instructor-led virtual classrooms, progress tracking, and academic reporting, paired with an on-site Pearson Vue Authorized Testing Center where students can sit certification exams as part of tuition.

The company operates a hybrid go-to-market: direct-to-consumer enrollment through the ibtcareers.com website with multiple funding pathways (WIOA Individual Training Accounts, VA VRRAP, the proprietary Veterans Career Academy, Professional Development Scholarships, youth scholarships, payment plans, and ESL programs), plus a sales-led B2B corporate training motion offering customized employee upskilling with a free LMS trial. Pricing is structured as one-time tuition ranging from roughly $1,500 per ESL module to $25,000 for full-time programs, with part-time tracks priced at $8,500 and full-time IT/certification tracks at $12,500. The school maintains WIOA-approved training provider status, Illinois Board of Higher Education approval, and a Pearson Vue partnership, but is not US Department of Education accredited.

Operationally, IBTCareers is founder-led (Paul Johnson, Founder/CEO/Program Director) with a small team of approximately 6 employees relying heavily on contracted vendor-certified instructors. Performance metrics cited include a 98.4% first-time certification pass rate, 96% course completion (379 of 395 students), and over $250,000 in veteran scholarships disbursed in 2021. Revenue, funding history, and detailed enrollment figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

IBTCareers - Institute of Business & Technology Careers

Legal name

Institute of Business & Technology Careers LLC

Website

https://ibtcareers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IBTCareers is a privately held, Chicago-headquartered vocational training institution founded in 2010 that delivers instructor-led certification programs in IT, business, healthcare IT, and creative arts to career-transitioning individuals, veterans, and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Training and Professional Certification Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAABAK

College & Career Transition Services (Bridge Programs, Dual Enrollment Pathways)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Adult Secondary Education (ASE) / High School Equivalency (GED/HiSET)

SECONDARYEDANAGAL

Integrated Tutoring + Learning Content Platforms (Curriculum + Tutors)

Education/Tutoring & Test Preparation/Online/Virtual Tutoring Platforms & Marketplaces

Keywords

• Vocational career training
• Industry certification programs
• IT professional education
• Corporate workforce training
• Veteran career education

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Training Tuition: One-time tuition fees for career training programs ranging from $8,500 to $25,000 depending on program duration and intensity. Programs include instructor-led training, course materials, certification vouchers for qualified students, and student software licenses.
2. Corporate Training Services: B2B professional development training for corporate clients with customized approach including project requirements review, skill requirements evaluation, staff skills analysis, performance goals assessment, and delivery method analysis.
3. Illinois WIOA Workforce Development Grants: Government-funded workforce training program where WIOA-eligible individuals receive Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) to cover training costs at IBTCareers as a WIOA-approved provider.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IBTCareers is a vocational training institution that delivers instructor-led career programs leading to industry-recognized certifications in Information Technology, Business Administration, Business Management, Creative & Digital Arts, and Health & Information Technology. Programs are offered on-site in Chicago and via virtual live-online instructor-led classrooms, with tuition ranging from $1,500 to $25,000, supported by an in-house LMS, career placement services, and an on-site Pearson Vue testing center. Complementary offerings include ESL programs, corporate workforce training, veteran-focused Veterans Career Academy, Youth Career Academy, and Women in Tech outreach.

Product overview

IBTCareers is an educational training institution offering industry-recognized certification programs through multiple delivery formats including virtual live-online instructor-led training, classroom instruction, and corporate training solutions. The company operates a proprietary Learning Management System (LMS) with over 80K courses. Its core portfolio consists of five career programs: Business Administration (Salesforce, QuickBooks, MS Office), Business Management (PMP, Six Sigma, Agile, Scrum), Creative & Digital Arts (Adobe, iOS/Android Development), Health & Information Technology (Medical Billing, Coding, CRM), and Information Technology (AWS, Cisco, CompTIA, Azure, Security). The company provides complementary services including career placement, veteran programs (VCA), youth programs (YCA), women-in-tech initiatives (WIT), and WIOA grant funding. Programs lead to globally recognized certifications from Microsoft, Adobe, AWS, Cisco, CompTIA, Salesforce, Google, PMI, and others. The company also offers a free learning portal (Geniussis) for public access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women In Tech (WIT): A monthly virtual event series celebrating women in technology, featuring panel discussions on emerging technologies, 5G IOT, and challenges women face in tech.
• Veterans Career Academy (VCA)
• Youth Career Academy (YCA)
• Professional Development Scholarship
• IBTCareers LMS Training Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.4% first-time pass rate for Industry Certified Exams
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pearson VuecoreTechnology or IntegrationIBTCareers is an Authorized Pearson Vue Testing Center, allowing students to take industry certification exams on-site at their Chicago headquarters. This eliminates the need for students to travel to external testing locations. Exam cost for first attempt is covered with tuition.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS certification programs including AWS Administrator, AWS Solutions Architect, and AWS Certified Developer are integrated into IBTCareers IT and cloud computing curricula.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft certification pathways including Azure AI, Azure Data Scientist, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Security certifications are core components of business and IT programs.
• AdobecoreTechnology or IntegrationAdobe Creative Suite certifications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Captivate) are taught through Creative & Digital Arts programs leading to Adobe ACP certification.
• CompTIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationCompTIA certifications including Security+, Cloud+, and A+ are integrated into IT Security and Cloud computing programs.
• CiscocoreTechnology or IntegrationCisco CCNA and CCNP certification programs prepare students for network engineering and administration careers. Cisco CCST Cybersecurity certification also offered.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle AdWords and Analytics certifications are integrated into Business Administration and Digital Marketing programs.
• SalesforcecoreTechnology or IntegrationSalesforce Administrator certification (ADX201) is taught in Business Administration and Business Management programs. IBTCareers uses Salesforce in-house for their own operations.
• Illinois WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act)coreOthersIBTCareers is a WIOA-approved training provider since 2010. WIOA provides Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) for eligible Illinois residents to fund professional training and certifications. WIOA combines federally-funded job training programs into a comprehensive workforce development system.
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)coreOthersIBTCareers participated in VA VRRAP (Veterans Rapid Retraining Assistance Program) approved due to high academic and administrative performance ratings. The program addresses funding gaps for veterans needing training without other VA educational funding sources. Many VRRAP veterans were ages 40-65 who had not been in school for over 20 years.
• Recruit MilitaryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecruit Military partnership for veteran recruitment and job placement services, connecting veteran students with employment opportunities.
• Tuskegee SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTuskegee School Scholarship partnership providing veterans with over $250,000 in FREE school scholarships in 2021. IBTCareers continued providing 100% FREE scholarships to qualifying veterans in subsequent years.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• General Assembly: Career-focused training provider offering instructor-led bootcamps and short courses in technology, data, and business with strong career placement services—overlapping IBTCareers' career-transition, instructor-led, and job placement value proposition.
• Year Up: Workforce development organization combining skills training with corporate internships and job placement for young adults—comparable mission and structure to IBTCareers' career transition + placement model.
• Per Scholas: Nonprofit that provides tuition-free IT training and certification prep for unemployed and underemployed adults, with similar workforce-development and employer-linkage model to IBTCareers' WIOA and VCA programs.
• Apprenti: Nonprofit IT apprenticeship and workforce program placing graduates into tech careers with employer partners—similar workforce-development and certification-to-employment pipeline to IBTCareers.
• New Horizons Computer Learning Centers: Global vocational IT and business skills training provider offering instructor-led courses that prepare students for the same vendor certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, AWS) that IBTCareers teaches. Closest direct comparable in model and certification mix.
• NPower: Nonprofit tech training provider focused on military veterans and young adults from underserved communities—directly comparable to IBTCareers' Veterans Career Academy and youth career pathways.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Global MOOC platform partnering with universities and tech vendors to deliver industry certification programs (Google, IBM, AWS, Microsoft), directly competing for the same career-changer audience at scale.
• Skillsoft: Enterprise learning platform providing corporate IT, business, and compliance training with certification prep—comparable corporate training and content library angle to IBTCareers' LMS and B2B offerings.
• Simplilearn: Online bootcamp provider offering instructor-led certification training (PMP, AWS, Azure, Cisco, Salesforce) directly overlapping IBTCareers' program catalog with global reach and aggressive pricing.
• Pluralsight: Large-scale online technology skills platform offering courses and certification prep paths across many of the same vendors (AWS, Microsoft, Cisco, Google, CompTIA) that IBTCareers teaches, but delivered asynchronously at lower price points.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IBTCWIT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ibtcedu

Compliance13 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IBTCareers - Institute of Business & Technology Careers