With more than one million job openings forecasted over the next ten years by the Province of British Columbia, the Digital Supercluster has announced investments in two new Leadership Training programs, Athena Digital Leaders and Asia Competence for Tech Professionals.
The Athena Digital Leaders and Asia Competence for Tech Professionals programs will help the Canadian workforce build transferable skills for growing economic sectors.
“Athena Digital Leaders recognizes Canada’s opportunity to drive economic prosperity by leveraging our capabilities in AI and ML to create good, clean jobs in natural resources and other key sectors,” said Sue Paish, CEO of the Digital Supercluster.
“Strong and meaningful trade relationships with Asia are central to building Canada’s prosperity. Making sure that Canadian leaders are ready to engage with prospective partners, customers, and others in Asia is key to building those relationships.”
Building on the success of the Athena Pathways pilot, the Athena Digital Leaders project seeks to increase technology adoption and foster more diverse technology leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data science (DS).
Led by AInBC, in collaboration with Finn AI, KPMG, Northeastern Vancouver, Simon Fraser University, the Immigrant Employment Council of BC, the University of British Columbia (UBC), Variational AI and the Vancouver Economic Commission, the project has created two responsive and flexible training programs to seed diversity in AI talent and leadership teams.
Since launching the program in July 2021, 22 self-identifying women or new immigrants have been accepted into the training program and 15 industry organizations have also partnered to hire students for work-integrated learning placements.
The Canada-Asia Pacific relationship provides a huge opportunity for trade and investment.
Led by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada in partnership with Canfor, Teck and Mosaic Forest Management, this pilot program will train 100 technology professionals to gain the skills needed to help Canadian companies increase exports and collaborate at a global level on green innovation and sustainability.
“The Asia Pacific region is the centre of the world’s technology future, and represents a compelling opportunity for Canadian industry, in particular our natural resources sector. This program will prepare industry leaders to be global leaders, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to engage – strategically, technically, and sensitively – across the Asia Pacific,” said Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
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