STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Josh Berres had a number of job choices in the tech sector when he finished college two years ago.

He chose a software engineer position at Skyward in Stevens Point. He and others create software to help manage many of the administrative tasks tied to running school — allowing educators to focus on the task of instruction.

“Knowing you’re making a difference for some employee out there, for a teacher for a family to make their lives easier,” Berres said.

Skyward needs more people like Berres, a Marshfield native. The business has openings in its programming team and customer consulting and support division, as well as other positions. 

Founded 40 years ago in a basement with only a handful of staff, Skyward now has more than 600 employees and supports more than 2,000 customers.

It’s an example of Wisconsin’s dispersed tech sector that — in smaller communities —  blend high-demand jobs without many of the challenges of living in a large metropolitan area. 

“These jobs exist here,” said Rebecca Gaboda, Skyward’s Organizational Development Manager. “ You don’t have to leave central Wisconsin to find a job in the tech industry.” 

Brian Hicks started his career with the company almost 20 years ago and has become attached to both the work and the community. To help hang on to its talent, Skyward put an emphasis on providing ongoing career development for its software engineers.

“We work with them, give them mentors and make sure we’re helping them progress and grow their skills so they’re not just sitting there writing code all day, which is really what we all like to do,” he said. “We want them to grow and have those opportunities for challenges.”

That’s one element of the culture at the family-owned business.

Berres points to another.

“Skyward is like a second family to me, and my teammates are like a second family to me. I know that if it’s a stressful day… I can always rely on my teammates,” he said. “They always have my back and I always have them.”

Additional information about careers at Skyward can be found here.