OTTAWA. September 16, 2019 – Today, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) announced its Digital Development and Acceleration of Skills Hub 2.0 Initiative (Digital DASH 2.0 Initiative) as part of the federal government’s CanCode extension. ICTC’s Digital DASH 2.0 Initiative is a 21-month program for grades K to 12 that will equip students with digital skills for tomorrow’s digital-based economy. The program will equip Canadian youth, including underrepresented groups, with coding, data analytics, and digital content development skills to prepare them for growth in STEM careers.

The Digital DASH 2.0 Initiative will:

  • Engage around 10,000 students and underrepresented groups across Canada.
  • Empower students with real-world business skills including problem-solving and critical thinking.
  • Leverage ICTC’s Focus on Information Technology (FIT) and Middle Years FIT (MYFIT) to expand the certification programs in schools across Canada.
  • Offer a dashboard for educators to track how their students are doing in developing digital skills.
  • Build supportive education-industry aligned skills frameworks and pathways for youth.

ICTC is delighted to leverage its labour and skills insights, its existing FIT School program, as well as its extensive network of industry and academic partners to implement a wrap-around digital skills development approach to enable systemic change in this space.

 “Expanding the learning opportunities for Canada’s youth to enter careers in STEM is a powerful construct for building tomorrow’s innovative talent and stimulate a growth economy.” – Namir Anani, ICTC President & CEO

The Digital DASH 2.0 Initiative is offered through CanCode, a $60-million over two years federal program extension that gives students from kindergarten to grade 12 the opportunity to learn digital skills, including coding, data analytics and digital content development. The funding will also provide 61,000 Canadian teachers with the tools needed to educate Canadian youth on these skills. CanCode aims to equip Canadian youth, including traditionally underrepresented groups, with the skills they need to be prepared for further studies, including advanced digital skills and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, leading to the jobs of the future.

Visit the Digital Youth website to learn more about the program.

 

With funding from:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For media inquiries, please contact: 

Kevin Wennekes — Chief, Strategic Outreach officer

(office) 613-237-8551 extension 147

or by email at k.wennekes[at]ictc-ctic.ca