Lincoln Financial Group’s Early Career Development Program offers opportunities to cultivate critical skills in STEM fields

"As a result of this opportunity, I am more confident contributing to my team due to the constant exposure I had to the current and emerging practices we use on daily basis," said Adrian Gomez-Lafaire, associate LPP, IT Infrastructure.

For students and recent graduates, the most impactful way to develop knowledge, skills and confidence in the workplace is through hands-on learning opportunities that provide them with tangible skills to launch their careers. Lincoln Financial Group's Lincoln Preparation Program (LPP) is a highly competitive two-year program designed to accelerate participants' professional development and prepare them for increasingly complex roles within the company through advanced skill development projects and activities.

Lincoln's Information Technology (IT) organization recently presented a first-of-its-kind opportunity to its LPP class: an Engineering Bootcamp Academy. Participants recently completed the immersive 10-week skill development program, designed specifically by subject matter experts within the organization to provide them with a strong foundation of core skills. The program introduced participants to several instrumental tools, development applications and coding programs that will enable success in their careers in IT.

"The Engineering Bootcamp Academy was a great first step into my career as a software engineer," said Destiny Fuller, associate LPP in IT for Lincoln's Workplace Solutions organization. "I can't stress enough how much I learned during those 10 weeks. It was engaging and I felt truly supported throughout the program and happy that Lincoln is invested in my career. I have not only grown as an engineer, but as a person. I am grateful for the opportunity and eager to apply what I learned at work and in my life."

Aligning with a core tenant of the overall program - to encourage participants to grow their networks- the Engineering Bootcamp Academy provided participants with the opportunity to connect and engage with Lincoln's senior IT leaders - a unique and impactful networking experience for young professionals.

"Supporting our early career talent in their growth and development is an important focus of our IT organization and we're proud to offer a program as comprehensive as the Engineering Bootcamp Academy to support our LPPs in their career journeys at Lincoln," said Ken Solon, executive vice president, chief information officer and head of IT, Digital and Enterprise Services for Lincoln Financial Group. "I'm a strong believer in continuous learning and this is just one example of how we're able to actively support our employees' learning and development at every level as we strive to enhance curriculum, broaden access and provide innovative learning opportunities and hands-on development experiences."

Putting new learnings into practice, the bootcamp's capstone project called for participants to build and deploy a cloud application - a key skill in today's ever-changing technology landscape. This culminating project allowed LPPs to immediately advance their skills to the next level by putting their learnings into action and having the opportunity to present to Lincoln's senior IT executives.

"Throughout the bootcamp, I was able to explore different applications and tools that significantly changed the way I thought about software development best practices and patterns," said Adrian Gomez-Lafaire, associate LPP, IT Infrastructure. "As a result of this opportunity, I am more confident contributing to my team due to the constant exposure I had to the current and emerging practices we use on daily basis."

Through the LPP, Lincoln is accelerating professional development for the next generation of talent. LPP opportunities are available to individuals that have graduated from college within the past 18 months or will be graduating May 2023. If you would like to apply for a LPP position with Lincoln, visit our careers page where the company is currently accepting applications for June 2023 enrollment.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help people take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, approximately 16 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, and guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $270 billion in end-of-period account values as of September 30, 2022. Lincoln Financial Group is a committed corporate citizen included on major sustainability indices including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and FTSE4Good and ranks among Newsweek's Most Responsible Companies. Dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, we are included on transparency benchmarking tools such as the Corporate Equality Index, the Disability Equality Index and the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. Committed to providing our employees with flexible work arrangements, we were named to FlexJobs' list of the Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2022. With a long and rich legacy of acting ethically, telling the truth and speaking up for what is right, Lincoln was recognized as one of Ethisphere's 2022 World's Most Ethical Companies^®. We create opportunities for early career talent through our intern development program, which ranks among WayUp and Yello's annual list of Top 100 Internship Programs. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn,andInstagram. Sign up for email alerts at http://newsroom.lfg.com.