Government of Canada prepares millions of Canadian youths to engage in digital world

BY PAUL JUNOR

There has been a pressing realization by the Government of Canada that youth have to become active participants in the digital world. This was the basis for the formation of

Cancode, which was launched in 2017. It was part of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan. The details can be seen at the government’s website: www.budget.gc.ca. This plan is, “An ambitious effort to make Canada a world-leading centre for innovation, to help create more good, well-paying jobs, and help strengthen and grow the middle class.”

The plan outlines five things needed to ensure skilled talented creative and diversified workforces:

• Build an innovative economy that is open to all Canadians
• Help Canadians adapt to the changing nature of work
• Help young Canadians as they enter the workforce
• Encourage a culture of lifelong learning
• Create an open and creative society that attracts the best and brightest from around the world

There has been an evolution of this plan from CanCode 1.0 and 2.0 to CanCode 3.0 which was announced on December 14^th, 2021. The blog itincanadaonline.ca revealed that coding and digital skills training were provided to 1.9 million Canadian students with the support of 96,000 teachers. Additionally, there were over two million training opportunities provided to participating students.

The website: educationnewscanada.com indicates that Cancode is in alignment with Canada’s Digital Charter, which is, “A principles-based approach to building trust in the digital world.” This Charter is important because of what it articulates. In fact, the first principles of the Charter are focused on ensuring that all Canadians have equal opportunity to participate in the digital world and the necessary tools to do so, including access, connectivity, literacy, and skills.

It was on July 29^th, 2021 that the government of Canada announced that $80 million would be invested in this plan for Cancode 3.0. The government’s website:www.canada.ca states that there would be, ”A focus on inclusion of under-represented groups, including girls, Indigenous youth, Black youth, youth with disabilities, and youth living in rural remote and northern communities.”

This investment in the development of digital skills among Canadian youth will go a long way to ensuring that those who belong to historically marginalized and disadvantaged groups are able to access critical digital skills. Honourable Francois-Phillipe Champagne (Minister of Innovation and Skills, Science and Industry) states, “By investing to help young people gain the coding and digital skills needed to succeed in our 21^st economy, we are preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow. These short-term strategic solutions will help youth not only transition successfully from classrooms to research labs but also drive our economic success for years to come.”

There are great days ahead as Canada is poised to be a digital world leader through this initiative.