Invest Vancouver and Amazon Web Services Collaborate to Enhance Tech Sector Job Training in Metro Vancouver
Invest Vancouver and Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon, have an agreement-in-principle to create a workforce development initiative that will prepare thousands of Metro Vancouver residents for well-paying jobs in the region’s growing tech sector, helping to attract high tech firms to the area.
A Regional Tech Training Initiative
Metro Vancouver will be the first region in Canada to introduce the regional training initiative that is based on a successful AWS program currently running across 100 community colleges through the California Cloud Workforce program. Since its launch in 2018, the program has provided thousands of learners with access to training that has led to employment in California’s high tech sector.
Invest Vancouver and AWS will launch initially in Metro Vancouver with select post-secondary and nonprofit institutions to help participants conveniently access training for some of the most in-demand tech sector careers, such as in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data analytics.
For its part, Invest Vancouver will act as a regional convener to facilitate collaboration with industry, educational, and nonprofit institutions to:
- ensure that the program matches workforce demands;
- provide students with engagement opportunities with industry; and
- connect graduates with employers seeking skilled talent across the region.
This initiative with AWS squarely aligns with Invest Vancouver’s goal to advance economic mobility within the region by fostering achievable career pathways for all residents; this includes creating opportunities for affordable and accessible training in careers that are at low risk of automation and in high demand by the industries that are driving the region’s economy.
Training Driven by Industry Demand
AWS is supporting the program by offering resources such as access to AWS education programs, job skills mapping for relevant cloud-based jobs, as well as professional development for educators, curriculum collaboration, and free AWS account credits for students.
“Creating education-to-employment alignment is a key objective of both AWS and Invest Vancouver, who will collaborate to promote this opportunity in the Metro Vancouver region, My team looks forward to working hand-in-hand with Invest Vancouver, secondary and post-secondary institutions, industry, nonprofits, to address the gap in cloud education and provide targeted education opportunities.”
Coral Kennett, Head of Education & Digital Innovation Lead, AWS Canada, based in Vancouver.
Connecting the Ecosystem of Tech Education Providers
As part of this initiative, Invest Vancouver and AWS have engaged the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) to support and promote the collaboration. Tasked with provincial strategic workforce development, BCIT is a critical player in the post-secondary system and, along with non-profit education organizations and the secondary system, will be critical to the initiative’s success.
