Award-Winning College Fuels Canada's Tech Job Gap with Diverse Talent Via International Work Study Program
VANCOUVER, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - RED Academy wins two coveted industry awards for 2017 and launches a work-study program open to international students to provide much-needed, diverse talent to Canada's booming tech sector.
"An aging population, a low number of domestic graduates in the required fields, and a large number of tech companies setting up shop in Canada, has spawned a shortage of skilled domestic workers for in-demand jobs." says Mandy Gilbert Co-Founder of RED Academy, the fastest growing digital marketing, design and technology school in Canada, and recent recipient of one of both SwitchUp's 2017 Best Bootcamp Awards and Course Report's 2017 Best Coding Bootcamps.
Research shows 182,000 high-paying technology jobs will be up for grabs in Canada by 2019, but Canada's school systems aren't producing the expertise to fill them, only 5% of students are graduating in these areas. There are 13,379 unfilled positions right now at big companies like Amazon and Salesforce, as well as hundreds of start-ups across the country. The Canadian government recently set up Global Talent Stream, a pilot visa program to speed up entry for businesses hiring foreign workers, and support the rapidly growing industry. It also hopes to bring in 450,000 international students by 2022, creating 173,100 new jobs, as part of its International Education Strategy.
"International students see Canada as a world class leader in higher education, and our growing tech industry means opportunity. RED Academy's work study program fosters foreign talent by augmenting their skills with access to the latest tools, building real client portfolios, and the experience required to eventually get a job here," adds Gilbert, pointing out that the Conference Board of Canada, in review of the recent census, identified a growing need to engage younger people in the labour market by better directing youth to where the jobs are, arming them with relevant skills, or creating opportunities for work experience.
Canada's foreign students come mainly from France, UK, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the US. The government is now focusing on Brazil, China, India, Mexico, North Africa, the Middle East, and Vietnam to grow. Students currently signing up for RED Academy's work study program are from all over: Mexico, Brazil, India, Colombia, France, South Africa, Kazakhstan and right here at home. Most of these students come into the program with traditional tech, design and marketing degrees, but lack the practical portfolio-building skills RED Academy offers through working on 'real world' projects submitted by fast growing Canadian companies.
These Diploma programs in Digital Marketing, UX Design and Web Development take place at RED Academy's Vancouver campus. Designed to run in the evenings and weekends, they allow students the ability to work while they study, which appeals to international students. A co-op placement forms part of the program, a gateway to Canada's growing tech sector.
For more info: www.redacademy.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.
SOURCE Red Academy
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