As the tech industry deals with a growing skills gap, many companies are supporting training initiatives to help get prospective employees up to speed.
Networking systems, services, and software company Ciena, which has more than 1,000 employees at its office in Kanata, is providing Ottawa charity iSisters Technology Mentoring with a “digital inclusion” grant to develop and deliver AI training to marginalized women.
“By offering comprehensive AI literacy training, we are empowering marginalized women to actively utilize and benefit from AI technologies,” said Daisy Gao, social impact program manager at Ciena, in a press release.
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iSisters, which offers programming in English, French, Arabic and Ukrainian, says the women it mentors are primarily young mothers, newcomers to Canada, refugees, those with disabilities, and those living in poverty.
The charity said that these women know the importance of learning tech skills such as AI.
Taught in a small class format, the program will cover topics such as the use of simple AI platforms like chatbots and voice assistants, prompt engineering, skills for job searches, and understanding bias in AI.
“We’re delighted that this renewed collaboration with Ciena will allow us to build on the successes from the previous years’ grants,” said iSisters chair Claire Toplis. “With the rapid integration of AI across sectors, empowering marginalized women with AI knowledge is important to improve their economic prospects and reduce digital inequalities.”
Ciena previously partnered with iSisters to deliver culturally appropriate programming for Inuit learners and assistive technology support for learners with disability.
“This not only enhances their lives, but also equips them to become well-informed citizens and equal contenders in the job market,” said Gao. “In light of these transformative outcomes, we’ve chosen to continue our collaboration with iSisters, ensuring that a greater number of women in need can cultivate these invaluable skills.”
Cisco also announced recently that it was undertaking a new partnership to help close the skills gap.
Cultivating a strong pool of tech talent is critical to Canada’s future, according to Wayne Cuervo, director of Cisco Canada’s digital impact office.
The company’s country digital acceleration program will fund the integration of the industry-recognized Cisco certified network associate certification into the University of Ottawa’s computer and software engineering curriculum.
The company said the certification validates a range of fundamentals for careers in IT, including networking technologies, security and software development.
“This partnership helps ensure students start their career on the right foot, while addressing the broader digital skills gap we face in Canada,” said Cuervo in a news release.
According to research firm Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), 250,000 additional jobs will be needed in the tech industry by 2025.
Addressing the shortage of skilled talent is necessary to fulfill this need, according to Guy-Vincent Jourdan, engineering professor and co-director of the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range at University of Ottawa.
Integrating the Cisco certification will allow the university to contribute to the solution.
“The CCNA certification is the industry standard stamp of approval for IT networks jobs,” he said. “We’re proud to partner with Cisco as their commitment to skill development aligns with our university’s mission of empowering students for success and bolstering Canada’s reputation as an innovation hub.”
Students in uOttawa’s computer and software engineering program will take the CCNA certification as part of their third-year courses starting in the winter 2025 semester.
