Now more than ever, Canadians need digital skills to land the jobs they want, advance their careers and grow their business.
Help is on the way in Western Canada.
The West Coast Technology Foundation (WCTF) has joined forces with ComIT and CodeCast to launch a tech-focused job training initiative to create new opportunities and options for youth and career changers.
WCTF is the non-profit arm of co-working company The Network Hub and aims to leverage its spaces and member network to collectively give back to the community.
ComIT’s tagline is ‘Recode Your Future’ and that pretty much sums their mission up. The national charity provides free IT training to individuals who are underemployed or unemployed with a need to obtain employment in the short term. CodeCast is a streaming and recording platform for developer education.
To start, 25 people will be invited to participate in the pilot project being delivered in Vancouver and Nanaimo.
“Technology is the way of the future, and we want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to be technology literate, especially with regards to career choices,” says Minna Van, executive director, West Coast Technology Foundation.
“Our collective vision for our ‘Tech-Training Hub’ ‘is to show measurable impact in the communities we serve – by providing training, then connecting trained individuals to hiring partners, and providing work space and a community of likeminded people to help ensure their sustained success. It’s a great, encouraging step.”
The pilot project includes a three-month training program focused on the basics using Javascript, training space to access remote learning and peer-to-peer support, a work space for trainees to study, a job fair at the end of the training to connect graduates with hiring companies, and an opportunity to continue working out of The Network Hub co-working communities once they are successfully employed.
The program begins in January 2020 with evening training sessions three days per week at The Network Hub’s downtown Vancouver location and streamed via CodeCast at their Nanaimo location.
Online applications are now open for interested individuals.