A chance call to an acquaintance in social work changed his life. The friend told Chumacero, 30, about NPower, a charity that retrains younger workers who lack computer skills for jobs in the information-technology industry. He applied and was accepted into a three-month program in September that taught computer protocols and networking among other related subject matter.By January, Chumacero had landed a job at Touchbistro Inc.
There is a war on talent right now right across Canada and a lot of companies … can't hire fast enoughto find qualified workers for years. The skills shortage is now even more acute because the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated the shift to a digital economy in which STEM skills and knowledge are key.
Davis, along with other executives, said that rather than waiting on economic immigrants, Canada needs to overhaul its approach to training to take advantage of the large pool of workers that were left stranded by the recession. There is a plethora of workers available for retraining, as the economic downturn has pushed long-term unemployment to record levels. Statistics Canada datalast week put the number of people who had been unemployed for longer than 27 weeks at 478,000, a 166.
As well, people who are already working age don’t always have the luxury of spending more than $40,000 on tuition, while also putting their lives on pause for half a decade to get a STEM degree, Davis said. The sector’s reputation for being dominated by white men creates an additional barrier for marginalized communities.
Executives are warming up to hiring graduates of such programs, setting aside notions that qualified candidates must have a university degree, said Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific Labs Inc., a software platform that helps people create and sell their own online courses.Article content
Good
Now tomorrow be sure to give us a piece on “Expectations of workers to commit to $14 pr hr wage”.
What nonsense! Never rely on a company to look out what’s best for you! Get a degree or training that’s relevant and you’ll always have it! They can take your job but they can’t take what you’ve accomplished