Free tech skills learning program held in Canada

Sessions will be held in six cities across the country

By Tania Arora, Staff Writer

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry is booming like never before, and it shows no sign of stopping soon. In this digital age, the entire world is running on technology.

Recognizing the importance of the ICT department, West Coast Technology Foundation, a not-for-profit section of The Network Hub (TNH) in Vancouver in partnership with CodeCast and ComIT.org designed a free tech skill learning program. The curriculum is designed to teach on-the-job required skills to people looking to get into the ICT industry.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, revenue for this field between 2012 and 2018 reached up from $156 billion to $193 billion—increasing by 23 percent. The website also reports that employment growth in this sector has been outpacing the overall economy since 2012. Even though there are many professionals in the ICT field, countries still face a dearth of skilled technical personnel.

According to a news release by ComIT, “Pablo Listingart is the founder and executive director of ComIT, a non-profit organization providing free digital employment skills training to interested students in six cities across Canada.”

The program will run in six different Canadian cities including Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Kitchener, and Toronto. The program is free of cost, which makes it more accessible. The pilot program will accommodate up to 25 people and will be held at two of TNH’s office locations in Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver.

The pilot session shall commence from January to April 2020. Most classes will be held in the evenings and shall take place three times a week. The curriculum will include lessons on the language and basics of using Javascript. The program is set up to include peer support and drop-in workspaces for trainees to study and work in, between their training. The organization will also conduct a hiring event towards the end of the program, inviting ICT companies to connect with the local trainees for possible hiring.

Listingart emphasizes the importance of creating such a program. “I believe in the democratization of education,” he said. “My goal was to give that first chance. There are a lot of born-and-raised Canadians who are here and can’t get a loan to attend a university or college, and they are still very smart and talented, but nobody gave them that first chance.”

Those interested in the program can apply at Comit.org’s website.