TechFluent Academy

2026 Cohort: Welcome - Live-Virtual Certification Program
2025-12-01 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago)
Powering Minnesota’s Diverse Tech Workforce
TechFluent scales industry-leading technology training, mentorship and employment programs to offer virtual and self-study services to 25 individuals in Minnesota and 10 from across the US. Focused on under-represented groups across the the country, also described as adults in underserved communities who are eligible to work in the United States, 18 years of age or older at the time of enrollment who are not enrolled in any K-12 school, who are seeking employment, and are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or who are an individual of color or a woman. At TechFluent we believe everyone should benefit from Work Readiness, Credentialed Training.
It is our mission to remove barriers that prevent our fellow citizens from participating in the data-tech economy. We deliver comprehensive, comprehensible training that does not assume prior technical competencies. We believe that anyone can master the required skills, regardless of age, cultural background, or prior work experience. Thus far, our Program Participants have enrolled as Learners with at least some college or work experience in their background, rather than students fresh out of high school. This isn’t to say that a recent high school graduate cannot be successful in our Program, we simply do not have Key Performance Indicators to inform that result. Our program, to date, has trained 200+ participants in a variety of products that are part of the Microsoft technological stack. In 2024 we placed 60% of our graduates in roles appropriate to the training we provided. In 2025, we placed 11% of our graduates, however, the Industry and the American economy in general has been in incredible flux. We are working fervently to overcome these hiring hurdles by partnering with a variety of Hiring Organizations and Placement Agencies to help us find opportunities for all of our graduates and active students.
We specialize in the Microsoft technology stack and the focus of this program will be data analytics which includes Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform, with an emphasis on Power BI.
Credentials to be awarded
PL-900 Power Platform Fundamentals
PL-300 Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst
PL-200 Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant
Approaches to Learning
TechFluent has curated a curriculum offering courses through every method of teaching style – self-paced and live-virtual, all supported by a Learning Leader providing technical support and facilitating Trainer Assistant collaboration as needed.
Self-Paced Classes through LinkedIn Learning
Our partnership with LinkedIn Learning offers comprehensive self-paced learning paths, utilizing their extensive library of online courses. This collaboration enriches our participants’ learning journey by providing access to high-quality educational content that aligns with industry standards and emerging trends. Each learner will receive a license and be required to complete the specified courses listed below. Additionally, the full LinkedIn Learning catalog will be available to them throughout the duration of the program, ensuring they have access to a wide range of resources to support their learning and professional development.
Live-Virtual Classes through TechFluent Volunteer Program
Live-Virtual trainers are provided through our extensive partnership with Microsoft Industry Consulting Partners and MVPs. Most are generously donating their time and expertise to deliver material they have developed and refined throughout their career, or which has been donated to TechFluent by a Leading Educator in the Industry. Occasionally, we may need to compensate a Trainer to guarantee a date, and in these cases, these Professionals are often receiving an honorarium well below their standard consulting rate.
Program Leader On-Virtual Calls
To augment the virtual learning portion of the Curriculum we will staff a Program Leader on each call with the Participants throughout the entire Program. This Program Leader will not generally be able to answer the technical questions, but more importantly, will facilitate the Trainer Assistants and Office Hours Support Volunteers providing virtual technical collaboration with the Participants to ensure fluid and full support.
Agenda:
Meet the Board President

Meet the Executive Director

Meet our Cohort Ambassadors

Hear from a Successful Graduate

Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!
2025-11-26 - 2025-11-28

Intro to Change Management, with Jonathan Monson
2025-11-20 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Introduction to Change Management
with Jonathan Monson
Change Management Professional
In this session, we will introduce the concept of Organizational Change Management and how it fits into the framework of successful Delivery Management. You will learn to properly define adoption and change management in the context of technology implementations. You will learn to describe the objectives of change management within a project or program. You will review change methodologies and discuss examples and how they apply to your project or program. And finally, we will discuss why it is important to apply an empathetic lens to interactions with a variety of people involved in your project or program.

Introduction to Microsoft's Success by Design, with Sara Jo Larsen - Day 2
2025-11-19 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Introduction to Microsoft’s Success by Design (2-Day Session)
with Sara Jo Larsen
Senior Architect at Centric Consulting.
In this session, we will introduce you to Microsoft’s premier FastTrack methodology agnostic delivery tool to ensure successful solution implementation end users and Microsoft Partners. Participants will explore the Success by Design framework and its pivotal role in guiding Dynamics 365 implementations. You will receive an in-depth review of key project phases, best practices, and FastTrack techniques, as well as gain practical strategies for planning, execution, and risk mitigation of projects on which you participate. The course will also emphasize solution architecture, governance, and compliance, ensuring secure and efficient deployments. Hands-on workshops will provide an opportunity to assess scalability and performance, while real-world case studies will prepare participants for implementation challenges. By the end of the session, learners will be equipped with actionable insights to optimize solution design, development, and deployment.

Intro to Microsoft's Success by Design, with Sara Jo Larsen
2025-11-18 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Introduction to Microsoft’s Success by Design
with Sara Jo Larsen
Senior Architect at Centric Consulting.
In this session, we will introduce you to Microsoft’s premier FastTrack methodology agnostic delivery tool to ensure successful solution implementation end users and Microsoft Partners. Participants will explore the Success by Design framework and its pivotal role in guiding Dynamics 365 implementations. You will receive an in-depth review of key project phases, best practices, and FastTrack techniques, as well as gain practical strategies for planning, execution, and risk mitigation of projects on which you participate. The course will also emphasize solution architecture, governance, and compliance, ensuring secure and efficient deployments. Hands-on workshops will provide an opportunity to assess scalability and performance, while real-world case studies will prepare participants for implementation challenges. By the end of the session, learners will be equipped with actionable insights to optimize solution design, development, and deployment.

User Story Development & Solution Design, with Sara Jo Larsen
2025-11-17 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
User Story Development & Solution Design
with Sara Jo Larsen
Senior Architect with Centric Consulting.
In this session, you will learn to properly develop User Stories distilling them from Requirements and gathering the details needed from your client through proper Backlog Grooming techniques. Additionally, we will review ways to manage a backlog properly whether you have basic tools (Excel) or nirvana (GYDE365), or something in between, to assist. After the User Stories are defined, they can be broken down further into Tasks for proper Solution Design, which is the next step in the Development Process and the next logical learning objective for this course. By the end of this course, you will know how to properly document your project’s Scope and Design in a manner that is traceable, trackable and consumable for building, testing and deployment.

Intro to Business Analysis
2025-11-12 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Introduction to Business Analysis

In this session, we will review the discipline of business analysis. We will discuss the career for Business Analysts and introduce you the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), its standards and Certifications. You will learn the various types of Requirements that Business Analysts are required to understand and work with. And, finally, you will become familiar with the typical Business Analysis process expected to be followed by all BAs in the technology space – Scrum. Finally, we will complete an exercise in this course to help solidify everything we’ve learned.

Exercise / Lab: Barista Process Flow

Intro to Delivery Management, with Sara Jo Larsen
2025-11-11 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Introduction to Delivery Management
with Sara Jo Larsen
Senior Architect at Centric Consulting.
In this session, you will explore the fundamentals of Delivery Management. More Learning Objectives to be added soon.

Intro to Project Management, with Anna Falcon
2025-11-10 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Introduction to Project Management
with Anna Falcon
Principal at Root16
In this session, we will introduce you to the basics of Project Management. We explain how to start and run a project. At the completion of this course, you will have a foundation in Project Management, but not specific governance process or templates on exactly how to execute Project Management for a specific business division. This course is intended for individuals who are new to project management with little to no experience. You will understand the core concepts, be able to define and manage project scope, track project status, properly start or initiate a project. You will understand how to schedule tasks properly and you will understand the concept of Risk Management.

CE / Power Platform Project Presentations
2025-11-05 - 2025-11-06 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
CE / Power Platform Project Presentations
All students will present their projects for feedback from Industry Professionals.
Panel of Judges will review via Teams Meeting; Presentations will be given in-person and streamed on camera via Teams.

Self-Study: Financial Literacy - Part 3
2025-10-30 09:00 - 13:30
Self-Study: Financial Literacy – Part 3

Economics for Everyone: Understanding a Recession (40m)
Real Estate Analytics (49m)
Real Estate: Negotiating with Sellers (1h)
Analyzing a Real Estate Deal (35m)
Real Estate Contracts (27m)
Real Estate: Estimating Repair Costs (49m)

Self-Study: Financial Literacy - Part 2
2025-10-29 09:00 - 16:00
Self-Study: Financial Literacy – Part 2

Personal Finance Tips Weekly (2h 50m)
Financial Literacy: 401k, 403b and Self-Directed IRAs (45m)
Build Sustainable Wealth & Get Out of Debt (1h 16m)
Evaluating College as an Investment (42m)

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, with Rachel Irabor - Microsoft MVP
2025-10-28 13:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
with Rachel Irabor
D365CE & Power Platform Developer at KPMG & Microsoft MVP
Imposter Syndrome can feel isolating, but it’s far more common than we realize. In this session, participants will explore the roots of Imposter Syndrome, understand how it affects confidence and decision-making, and discover practical strategies to reframe it as a source of strength. Through open discussion and reflection, we will learn how to turn self-doubt into self-empowerment.
Learning Objectives:

Recognize the signs of Imposter Syndrome and how it impacts confidence, productivity, and career growth.
Identify external factors, such as workplace dynamics, immigration, and representation, that can contribute to feelings of self-doubt.
Apply strategies to reframe Imposter Syndrome as a tool for resilience, growth, and authentic leadership.
Develop personalized techniques to become their own strongest supporter and advocate.

Professional Communication Strategies in the Modern Workplace, with Carol Smock
2025-10-28 09:00 - 12:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Professional Communication Strategies in the Modern Workplace
with Carol Smock
Executive Director of TechFluent Academy
In today’s fast-paced, hybrid work environments, effective communication is more than just a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage. This dynamic 3-hour session equips professionals with the tools, techniques, and mindset needed to communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact across diverse channels and audiences.
Participants will explore modern communication challenges and master strategies for navigating email etiquette, virtual meetings, cross-cultural interactions, and persuasive messaging. Through real-world scenarios, role-playing, and collaborative exercises, attendees will learn how to tailor their communication style to different stakeholders, resolve conflicts diplomatically, and foster stronger professional relationships.
Key Takeaways:

Best practices for digital communication (email, chat, video conferencing)
Emotional intelligence and active listening in business settings
Communicating across cultures and generations
Structuring messages for clarity, persuasion, and action
Giving and receiving feedback with professionalism
Building trust and credibility through communication

Self-Study: Financial Literacy - Part 1
2025-10-27 09:00 - 16:00
Self-Study: Financial Literacy – Part 1

Managing Your Personal Finances (1 hr)
Financial Basics Everyone Should Know (1hr 50m)
Financial Adulting (1h)
Finance Foundations: Income Taxes (2h)

Community Summit - Orlando, FL
2025-10-19 - 2025-10-23 | Gaylord Palms Resort, Kissimee, Florida, United States
Community Summit North America is the largest independent innovation, learning, and training event of the Microsoft Business Applications ecosystem. You’ll get real-world tips & tricks and advanced strategies around the issues you’re tackling in this changing business landscape. Summit NA has hundreds of informative and educational sessions to deliver end-to-end learning around all versions of Dynamics 365 FO/AX, CE/CRM & BC/NAV, Dynamics GP & SL, and the Microsoft Power Platform.
Each year, Dynamics Communities, a Major Community Sponsor of TechFluent Academy, generously sponsors up to 10 Learners to attend the Summit as a learning and networking opportunity. In the past, many of those in attendance have left the Summit with job offers. Many return as speakers in future years, elevating their visibility in the marketplace and lighting their careers on fire!

Co-Pilot Studio - PVA, with Simon Wang
2025-10-15 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Co-Pilot Studio, Power Virtual Agents (2-Day Session)
with Simon Wang
AI Business Solutions Engineer at Microsoft
In this session, you’ll explore the fundamentals of Microsoft Copilot and Power Virtual Agents, learning how they enhance user interactions and automate business processes. You’ll gain hands-on experience configuring and deploying chatbots, integrating them into business applications to improve engagement. Discover how AI-driven automation can streamline workflows and boost efficiency, while Copilot helps generate insights and support decision-making within tools like Microsoft Dynamics 365. You’ll also learn best practices for conversational AI, ensuring clear and effective interactions. By connecting Power Virtual Agents with Microsoft Dataverse and Power Automate, you’ll enable seamless data flow and automated actions. Customize chatbot functionalities for specific business needs and prepare for the Basic Business Application Certification with key concepts and exam strategies.
This course developed by Simon Wang, of Microsoft.

Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Co-Pilot, with Simon Wang
2025-10-14 09:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Co-Pilot
with Simon Wang
AI Business Solution Engineer at Microsoft
This hands-on course equips professionals with the skills to harness Microsoft Copilot across sales, marketing, and customer service functions. Participants will learn how to streamline workflows, personalize customer engagement, and drive data-informed decisions using AI-powered tools embedded in Dynamics 365.
Through real-world scenarios and guided practice, learners will explore how Copilot enhances productivity—from drafting compelling marketing content and analyzing campaign performance to generating sales insights and resolving customer inquiries with speed and precision.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Automate routine tasks and communications across CRM and marketing platforms
Use Copilot to extract actionable insights from customer data and sales pipelines
Generate persuasive content for campaigns, proposals, and customer outreach
Improve customer service responsiveness and personalization using AI assistance
Integrate Copilot into daily workflows for consistent, scalable impact

Self-Study: Mastering Microsoft Powerpoint, Day 2
2025-10-13 09:00 - 12:30
Self-Study: Mastering Microsoft Powerpoint (9.5 hours total)
Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint is an essential skill for many careers. Discover how to create more polished and professional presentations by mastering PowerPoint. Learn to use the features and built-in tools in PowerPoint. Design better slides, using animations and rich media. Enhance presentations with visualizations and storytelling.
Recommend completing 4.5 hours on Day 2.

Self-Study: Mastering Microsoft PowerPoint
2025-10-10 09:00 - 13:00
Self-Study: Mastering Microsoft Powerpoint (9.5 hours total)
Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint is an essential skill for many careers. Discover how to create more polished and professional presentations by mastering PowerPoint. Learn to use the features and built-in tools in PowerPoint. Design better slides, using animations and rich media. Enhance presentations with visualizations and storytelling.
Recommend completing 5 hours on Day 1.

Self-Study: Master Microsoft Excel, Day 2
2025-10-08 09:00 - 13:00
Master Microsoft Excel (13 hours total)
Employers around the world cite Microsoft Excel as one of the most sought-after skills for any new hire. This learning path helps you become an Excel power user—covering everything from functions and formatting to PivotTables and dashboards. Master the powerful features and functions in Excel. Learn how to use Excel’s robust built-in formulas. Get up to speed on PivotTables, dashboards, and Power Query.
Recommend completing 5 hours on Day 2.

Self-Study: Master Microsoft Excel, Day 3
2025-10-09 09:00 - 12:00
Master Microsoft Excel (13 hours total)
Employers around the world cite Microsoft Excel as one of the most sought-after skills for any new hire. This learning path helps you become an Excel power user—covering everything from functions and formatting to PivotTables and dashboards. Master the powerful features and functions in Excel. Learn how to use Excel’s robust built-in formulas. Get up to speed on PivotTables, dashboards, and Power Query.
Recommend completing 3 hours on Day 3.

Self-Study: Master Microsoft Word, Day 2
2025-10-07 09:00 - 13:00
Self-Study: Master Microsoft Word (8 hours total)
Proficiency in Microsoft Word is one of the most in-demand software skills today. This learning path helps you become a power user in Word. Discover how to create forms, format documents, use built-in templates, and more. Use Word’s powerful features and functions with ease. Create and edit forms. Utilize Word’s built-in styles and templates.
Recommend completing 4 hours on Day 2.

Self-Study: Master Microsoft Word, Day 1
2025-10-06 09:00 - 13:00
Self-Study: Master Microsoft Word (8 hours total)
Proficiency in Microsoft Word is one of the most in-demand software skills today. This learning path helps you become a power user in Word. Discover how to create forms, format documents, use built-in templates, and more. Use Word’s powerful features and functions with ease. Create and edit forms. Utilize Word’s built-in styles and templates.
Recommend completing 4 hours in Day 1.

Resume, Cover Letter & LinkedIN Profile Workshop, with Andrew Riordan
2025-09-30 13:00 - 16:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
with Andrew Riordan
Founding Consultant, Power 365 Recruitment

Resume, Cover Letter & LinkedIN Profile Workshop
• Understand keys to successful resumes and how to stand out as an applicant
• Understand various approaches and benefits/drawbacks of each
• Understand best practices and different approaches for common scenarios
• Understand fundamentals of LinkedIn
• Understand various aspects of SEO and getting one’s profile viewed
• Understand best practices and different approaches for common scenarios

Testing Accommodations, Exam Preparation, with Carol Smock
2025-09-30 11:00 - 12:00 | Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th Street, Minneapolis, MN, 55409, United States
Testing Accommodations, Exam Preparationwith Carol Smock
Executive Director at TechFluent Academy
In this session, our Executive Director will help you understand the Testing Accommodations available as you prepare to take your Certification Exams. She will also provide Study Guides and resources available to help you prepare for the Certification Exams.

Self-Study: D365CE Item by Item Training - Field Service App
2025-09-26
Self-Study: D365CE Item by Item Training – Field Service App
The Field Service curriculum is built for individuals with no prior experience in Dynamics 365 or field operations systems. It walks learners through the foundational concepts of delivering service in the field, managing technicians, and using technology to improve efficiency.

Understand what work orders are and how they’re created and completed
Learn how dispatchers assign tasks and optimize technician schedules
Get introduced to managing service parts, assets, and customer equipment
Explore how service agreements are created and used for recurring work
Become familiar with mobile tools used by field staff on the go

This set of 56 beginner-level micro-courses ensures learners are well-prepared to support and deliver field service using Dynamics 365.

Self-Study: D365CE Item by Item Training - Customer Service App
2025-09-25
Self-Study: D365CE Item by Item Training – Customer Service App
Perfect for those new to customer support systems, the Customer Service curriculum introduces learners to the basics of managing customer issues with Dynamics 365. With 45 micro-courses tailored to beginners, it builds core skills needed to navigate service workflows, resolve cases, and support customers effectively.

Learn the structure and purpose of customer service cases
Understand how to search and use a knowledge base to resolve issues
Get introduced to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and how they work
Explore tools for tracking customer communications and case progress
Gain visibility into how agents and teams collaborate within the system

By the end of this curriculum, first-time users will feel confident using D365 to handle and track customer service interactions.

MANDATORY: TechFluent | IBI Pre-Training - VIRTUAL
2025-09-24 09:00 - 09:30
MANDATORY: TechFluent | IBI PRE-TRAINING
In this 30-minute Session Elif Item, Founder and CEO from IBI, will introduce the IBI Platform. Over the next 3 days you will use the IBI platform to learn about the Sales, Service and Field Service Modules and how to properly configure them.

These learning modules are self-paced and support your pursuit of the PL-200 and MB-910 Certifications. You will only have 30 days to complete this self-study. Delivered virtually via Teams to all students.
The Sales curriculum is crafted specifically for individuals who are new to Dynamics 365 Sales. It offers a clear, step-by-step introduction to the tools and workflows that help manage customer relationships and drive sales. Through 37 easy-to-follow micro-courses and guided learning paths, learners gain hands-on experience navigating the system and understanding the end-to-end sales cycle.

Get familiar with the Sales app interface and navigation
Learn how to manage customer data with accounts and contacts
Track emails, calls, and tasks using activity management
Understand how to create and move opportunities through the sales pipeline
Explore how to create quotes and use sales forecasting tools

This beginner-friendly curriculum ensures learners develop a strong grasp of CRM fundamentals and are prepared to use Dynamics 365 Sales in real-world contexts.

Self-Study: D365CE Item by Item Training - Sales App
2025-09-24
Self-Study: D365CE Item by Item Training – Sales App
The Sales curriculum is crafted specifically for individuals who are new to Dynamics 365 Sales. It offers a clear, step-by-step introduction to the tools and workflows that help manage customer relationships and drive sales. Through 37 easy-to-follow micro-courses and guided learning paths, learners gain hands-on experience navigating the system and understanding the end-to-end sales cycle.

Get familiar with the Sales app interface and navigation
Learn how to manage customer data with accounts and contacts
Track emails, calls, and tasks using activity management
Understand how to create and move opportunities through the sales pipeline
Explore how to create quotes and use sales forecasting tools

This beginner-friendly curriculum ensures learners develop a strong grasp of CRM fundamentals and are prepared to use Dynamics 365 Sales in real-world contexts.
