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Defining Digital Competencies

Due to rapidly shifting digital skills needs, a disconnect exists between the skills of many post-secondary graduates and the technical skills required by employers.

These digital skills often include a combination of innovation, entrepreneurship, an understanding of the technology adoption processes, and soft skills, including communications, creativity, and adaptability. Innovative approaches are needed to better define the digital competencies required to fill this talent gap and create new opportunities.

Young business people working at office on new project. startup, concept , team

The Future Skills Centre will invest $1.24M in a two-year project led by ITAC, which explores new approaches to defining digital competencies and creating new pathway opportunities into digital roles for non-STEM graduates, internationally-educated professionals, and high-potential workers without traditional credentials. This subsidized project uniquely delivers skills training in a heavily-blended approach for digital and professional competencies.

ITAC, along with member companies and partners, will work to define a set of in-demand, innovative digital competencies. Using this knowledge, the curriculum will be developed and tested for alternative pathways into digital roles. Rigorous skills testing and aptitude assessments will be a key component of this project. 

This project will target 370 job-seekers and employers in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.

Evaluation

This project will be rigorously evaluated using tools and approaches aligned with its unique goals and context. An evaluation plan is under development and will be shared in this space in the coming weeks. The evaluation will be linked to a broader evaluation strategy to ensure we are capturing the right evidence at the right moment to move the intervention forward. Read about our overall evaluation strategy.

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