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Invest Vancouver to collaborate with Amazon Web Services to promote tech sector jobs

Initiative has potential to prepare thousands of students for digital future
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Cloverdale Chamber director Scott Wheatley is seen in 2020. Wheatley said a new workforce development initiative between Invest Vancouver and Amazon Web Services is coming to Lower Mainland post-secondary institutions. “It has the potential to prepare thousands of students for jobs in the growing tech sector.” Wheatley sits on the board for Invest Vancouver. (Photo: Malin Jordan)

A new training initiative is coming to Lower Mainland schools.

Last week Invest Vancouver announced they’d be partnering with Amazon Web Services to help promote tech sector jobs to students.

“It’s a workforce development initiative,”said Scott Wheatley, executive director for the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce. “It has the potential to prepare thousands of students for well-paying jobs in the growing tech sector.”

Wheatley sits on the Metro Vancouver board for Invest Vancouver. He said high-tech firms don’t set up shop just anywhere, they also have to have access to a well-trained workforce.

“It’s one of the biggest issues we have,” said Wheatley. “We’ll work with (AWS) to make sure education aligns with needs, so people can train in the skills they’ll find successful employment in.”

He said Invest Vancouver’s mandate is to go out and find businesses to bring in to the area.

“But we need a trained and qualified workforce to bring them in.”

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According to a press release, the Lower Mainland will be the first place in Canada to bring in a training program that’s based on one already “running across 100 community colleges through the California Cloud Workforce program.”

In three years, the U.S. program has given thousands of students the opportunity to access courses that’ll open doors for them in the tech sector.

“Invest Vancouver identified a gap between high-tech sector employers seeking to fill positions and qualified candidates looking for work within the region, but there are barriers that keep people from entering the industry and upgrading their existing skills,” said Sav Dhaliwal, chair of the Invest Vancouver board. “One key solution is to offer coordinated and equitable access to existing training at secondary, post-secondary and non-profit institutions that aligns with the evolving needs of industry. This new collaboration does just that.”

The student development initiative will start with a few post-secondary schools and non-profit institutions to help kids train in “in-demand tech sector” jobs, such as: cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data analytics.

“Creating education-to-employment alignment is a key objective of both AWS and Invest Vancouver,” said Coral Kennett, head of educational programs for Vancouver -based AWS Canada. “My team looks forward to working hand-in-hand with Invest Vancouver, secondary and post-secondary institutions, industry and non-profits to address the gap in cloud education and provide targeted education opportunities.”

Visit investvancouver.ca for more info.



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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Malin Jordan

About the Author: Malin Jordan

Malin is the editor of the Cloverdale Reporter.
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