TeKnoWave. A unique Canadian program to build Aboriginal capacity in information technology.

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1 TeKnoWave A unique Canadian program to build Aboriginal capacity in information technology. Rima Aristocrat Willis College of Business and Technology International Grant Thomas Knowledge Resources Canada Inc Rima Aristocrat and Grant Thomas The authors own the copyright of this article. You may photocopy or reprint this article, or a section of it, provided that you acknowledge

2 TeKnoWave is a national program to develop critical information technology (IT) capacity within the Canadian Aboriginal community. Led by Willis College of Business and Technology and supported by the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC), TeKnoWave is a unique blend of partnerships, public and private sector engagement, private college and university collaboration, domestic and international accreditation with the support of Aboriginal leaders and their communities. The program responds to the critical need to develop IT skills by Aboriginal people both to take advantage of new economy job opportunities and to seize the economic and social development opportunities that connectivity represents for all Aboriginal communities. TeKnoWave complements locally based IT training initiatives and builds on best practice observations and a considerable consultative process. TeKnoWave will be launched in 2003 with an initial pilot program in the Ottawa region. When fully operational, the program will graduate 1000 IT professionals who will fill critical skills shortages, develop new companies, implement the connectivity infrastructure in their communities, and serve as role models for their peers. The growing list of partners involved in the initiative includes: Willis College, AHRDCC, the University of Winnipeg, Donna Cona Inc., the Odawa Native Friendship Centre and leaders such as Grand Chief Joseph T. Norton and John Bernard. While specific to the IT sector, TeKnoWave represents a model which can be applied to any industrial sector which has a formal skills framework. Background The massive transition to a knowledge and innovation based economy, which is occurring in global society, represents enormous opportunities and challenges for all people. We are seeing a transformation in the way we do almost everything in our social, community, and business lives, and any time there is change and transformation, there is opportunity. In large measure, these new opportunities are driven by knowledge, information, and communications technologies which are changing the way we communicate with the world, the way we learn, the way we deliver health and social services, and the way we run government and business. Indeed, technology is shaping the very types of businesses we are able to run and the types of services which we are able to offer communities, irrespective of where they are located. All sectors of the economy are touched by information and communication technologies and the workers who are equipped with the skills to take advantage of this new context will have more opportunity to prosper. As we entered the millennium, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that 60 % of all jobs would require some level of computer proficiency and a recent American survey found that 68 % of workers use a computer daily, spending 35 % of the workday on a computer. The situation is similar in Canada and in fact the government s commitment to the Innovation Agenda and innovation-based growth will only accelerate the use of, and dependency upon, advanced technologies. Despite the recent downturn in the technology sector, the shortage of skilled workers grows, the opportunities for new businesses abound, the access to technology for rural and remote communities improves, and government commitment to technological growth strengthens. The result is jobs and opportunities for people with the skills and growing marginalization for those without. The technology-driven transformation of society provides new and challenging opportunities for Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians and IT, computer, and software skills are important prerequisites for the new jobs, the new businesses, and innovative social and economic development. Development of Aboriginal IT human resource capacity is an important investment with potentially rich dividends. There are critical skill shortages in Canadian industry, the Aboriginal workforce is young and growing, connectivity initiatives require local, rural and remote technical support to realize the prosperity promises,and Aboriginal youth need more champions and role models who are playing innovative roles in the new economy. The Jobs Imperative DesToday, the information technology sector is an aggressive engine for job creation. Industry Canada figures show that employment in the sector continues to grow at an annual rate of 7%, approximately 3 times the national average job growth. Software and computer services are the highest performing sub-component, growing at a rate of 9.5% in This leads to a growing shortage of skilled labour to fill these positions.the Software Human Resource Council estimates that there are over 20,000 positions unfilled nationally. Since every job created in the high NATCON Papers 2003 Les actes du CONAT 2

3 technology sector tends to create two indirect jobs, the loss to the Canadian economy of not filling these positions could be 60,000 jobs. The Conference Board of Canada estimated that 2000 the Canadian IT sector was operating at only % of capacity due to shortages of qualified workers. It notes that 50% of employers have difficulty finding the IT workers and that 35 % of vacant positions remain unfilled for more than 4 months. In response to these needs, there have been calls for streamlined entry of foreign workers with IT skills and a pilot project is currently underway. Furthermore, the government estimates that by 2011, immigration will account for all net labour force growth. Aboriginal people can fill these jobs. The Demographic Imperative There are important demographic trends concerning Aboriginal employment and prospects. The Aboriginal population is younger and is growing at a faster rate than the overall Canadian population: 50% of the Aboriginal population is under the age of 25. Over the next 10 years, the Aboriginal working-age population will grow 3-5 times as fast as its non-aboriginal counterpart, most markedly in Western Canada. Recent statistics show that the number of self-employed Aboriginal people is growing 10 to 20 times faster than the national average. The number of aboriginal people with post-secondary education has grown almost four-fold over the past 20 years to approximately 160,000 people. Thus, while the overall population will be aging from labour force into retirement over the next 20 years, the Aboriginal population will be aging from youth into workforce. Clearly, Aboriginal young people represent an important part of a skills shortage solution. On the other hand, continuing barriers to Aboriginal Employment are significant and are reflected in a scan of employment rates and education and income levels from1996 census data. 54 % of working age Aboriginal people are employed, compared to 71 percent of the non-aboriginal population. This represents a shortfall of 80,000 jobs required to achieve employment parity. Yet the number of self-employed Aboriginal people is growing at up to 20 times the national average. While these entrepreneurs are typically in primary, recreational, construction, and transportation sectors, they are also venturing into the knowledge-based economy. The incomes of Aboriginal people still lag behind non-aboriginal Canadians and are about two-thirds the national average. 54 % of working age Aboriginal people have completed high school education, but on-reserve only 37 % complete. The figure is 65 % for all Canadians. However, between 1981 and 1996 the percentage of Aboriginal people aged 20 to 29 completing high school increased from 40 to 54 % and the proportion completing post-secondary or diploma studies increased from 19 to 23 %. There is also a strong trend to continuing education for adults, with the percentage of Aboriginal adults who are full time students being double that of non-aboriginals. Thus, while, the trends are in the right direction,the gaps that exist between Aboriginal people and the overall population in labour market participation, income levels, and educational levels represent a challenge to overcome. The achievements and success stories of Aboriginal individuals, groups, and communities are often lost in these stark numbers. Closing the gaps between Aboriginal peoples and the general population will require a clear focus on those examples and successes and their replication across the country. The Community Development Imperative Connectivity and the application of IT provide significant opportunities for communities to take charge of their own economic and social development. The positive impact of IT on development has been demonstrated in rural communities in Canada and in developing communities in the emerging market regions of the world. Technology solutions continue to increase in effectiveness and to decline in cost. Connectivity options are increasing and solutions are developing to support rural access to education, health services, and government services, and to support the development of the interface between local economies and global markets. NATCON Papers 2003 Les actes du CONAT 3

4 The critical factor is not technology, but the local capacity to implement, support, and take advantage of the opportunities. This requires local IT capability plus local champions to promote innovation, particularly associated with increasing the awareness of local community leadership in the potential of IT and telecommunications to influence local growth. The 2002 National Connecting Aboriginal Canadians Forum specifically called for community-driven connectivity initiatives, e-skills development, e-application development, digital content development and the development and sharing of best practice models, particularly community-driven cases. Containing and closing the digital divide puts additional pressure on the need for increased Aboriginal IT skills development. The International Imperative Not only do the opportunities exist in Canada. Increasingly, international development programming is focused on the improvement of information and communications technology infrastructures to enable global inclusion and local management of economic and social development. The connectivity challenges faced by developing countries are similar to those faced by rural and remote communities in Canada. There is also a growing understanding on the part of the international financial institutions that development is more successful under local ownership and indigenous control. This is leading to efforts to build linkages between Aboriginal communities to share and support development activity. At the 2002 National Connecting Aboriginal Canadians Forum, the delegates heard of the opportunities for Canadian Aboriginal organizations to leverage their experiences and Canada s connectivity progress into new international partnerships and markets. The Partnership Imperative Increasing Aboriginal participation in the new economy will require new partnerships between industry, government, and academics. The recent Taking Pulse conference, attended by industry, government, and Aboriginal leaders, demonstrated that there exists the will to tackle new educational approaches and to aggressively support Aboriginal hiring. Among many things, the conference called for industry-specific training initiatives delivered through creative, flexible partnerships. TeKnoWave TeKnoWave is a national initiative, supported by a growing partnership, which has developed a sophisticated model to provide the highest level of education and training to Aboriginal people seeking careers in the IT sector. The initiative is led by Willis College of Business and Technology, with the support of the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada. The model, Five Pillars of Career Development, is based on p successful experience accumulated by Willis over its history as a leader and innovator in IT education and training. TeKnoWave has a goal of developing 1,000 Aboriginal IT professionals who have global certification, ministerial accreditation, and practical experience at both the community and business levels. The program will deliver IT technical and managerial training in programs of 1 year duration. TeKnoWave will be delivered from facilities located in the Aboriginal community so that maximum exposure is achieved and to ensure that community-based social support is available to all students. The initial launch will occur in 2003 from pilot training facilities established at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre in Ottawa. The initial intake is targeted to be 20 students. These students will have an opportunity to serve as champions and role models within their communities and to participate in the propagation of the program as teachers, promoters, facilitators, and counsellors. The program will need considerable support, both financial and in-kind, from industry government and the local communities. Willis is a private career college. founded in 1896, and is recognized as an innovator in providing IT career training. Willis programs are approved by the Ontario and Quebec Ministries of Education and certified to international industry standards by all the major IT corporations such as Microsoft, Oracle, SUN, and Novell. Willis graduates enjoy a record of nearly 100 % employment upon graduation and the superior performance of Willis graduates led Bill Gates, of Microsoft, to appoint the Willis CEO as the only Canadian on its education advisory board. NATCON Papers 2003 Les actes du CONAT 4

5 In 2002, Willis and the University of Winnipeg broke new ground in Canada when they established an articulation agreement which allows for the integration of university management courses in Willis programs and the transfer of credits to University of Winnipeg undergraduate studies. This is the first such articulation between the public and private education systems and is an important instrument in the creation of a lifelong learning infrastructure. The TeKnoWave Model: Five Pillars of Career Development There are five principal elements to the TeKnoWave model: 1. Ministry accreditation and international industry certification; 2. Private sector involvement in curriculum development and job placement; 3. Blended career college and university courses, both technical and management; 4. Transfer of course credits to university undergraduate studies to create a lifelong continuous learning framework; and 5. Mandatory community internship to ensure the engagement of local communities and their leaders. It is these elements, or pillars, that create the uniqueness of the model and contribute to its sophistication. While the model has been developed to serve IT career training, it could apply equally to any structured skill sector. Pillar 1: Accreditation and Certification TeKnoWave graduates will receive a Ministry of Education diploma, international industry certification and transferable university credits for the courses which they successfully complete. Currently, TeKnoWave programs are recognized by the Ministries of Education in Ontario and Quebec. Extension into other jurisdictions will be negotiated. TeKnoWave operates within the international certification programs of Microsoft, Oracle, SUN Microsystems, CIW, Novell, and others. These certificates are recognized world-wide and are standard employment qualifications within the global IT industry. The University of Winnipeg will grant successful students credits at the undergraduate level if and when they choose to continue their learning. Pillar 2: Private Sector Engagement A critical element of TeKnoWave is the committed involvement of the private sector at both a local and national level. The private sector, small, medium sized enterprises, and large corporations, are involved to ensure that the TeKnoWave curriculum is directly relevant to local needs and national trends and to provide seamless and smooth transition into the workforce. Local private sector IT advisory councils are established which consist of local IT companies and principal IT employers. Particular emphasis is placed on local Aboriginal IT companies and each advisory council is chaired by a local Aboriginal IT executive. The advisory council will ensure that the curricula respond to local IT requirements, both in terms of local business and public sector hiring and in terms of broader community application and connectivity needs. The advisory council will also provide a conduit for student access to real world experience and advice. Pillar 3: University and Career College Integration TeKnoWave blends industry technical training with university management courses. All 1 year programs will provide students with specialized technical training and critical management of technology courses from the University of Winnipeg. This blend of technical and managerial training responds to important requirements in today s workplace, where soft skills are often as important as technical specialization. It also provides TeKnoWave graduates with broader knowledge to support entry into a service or consulting career or the challenges of entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the program addresses the need for the type of broadly skilled individual who is needed to support community-based applications, where there are not the resources to engage specialized experts. NATCON Papers 2003 Les actes du CONAT 5

6 Pillar 4: Credit Transfer and Lifelong Learning Successful TeKnoWave students will be able to transfer credits at the undergraduate level for continued study at the University of Winnipeg. This is made possible by the historic articulation agreement which has been established between the university and Willis College. In this manner, should they wish to pursue further studies in the future, they will receive credit for their investment of effort in TeKnoWave against bachelor degree programming. This puts in place the underpinnings of a lifelong learning infrastructure and encourages a culture of continuous learning. Pillar 5: Community Internship and Involvement As a mandatory component of the program of study, all TeKnoWave students are required to complete an IT application that provides practical benefit to a local Aboriginal community or socially responsible agency. This community internship program provides the students with critical practical experience and provides benefit to the participating organization which it would ordinarily not be able to afford. The priority will be on engaging local, probably rural, communities as community internship partners. Students will work in supervised teams of two. There are several benefits from this arrangement: Communities are exposed to the potential of IT, a critical aspect in appreciating the benefits of connectivity, and will have developed a practical application, for example a web site or database application. The students have increased cultural contact and can better appreciate the role of technology as it interfaces with traditional values. Students gain practical experience in delivering a solution to a client, understanding requirements and dealing with deliverables. There is a significant financial trickle down value to the community at large. The average value of a community internship project has been acknowledged to be $20,000, reflecting a contribution of $10,000 per student who work in teams of two. With a target of 1,000 IT professionals, this means that TeKnoWave can deliver $10 million through the community internship component to groups who could not otherwise afford system support. Communities will also be involved in the delivery of TeKnoWave programming. In the initial pilot, the TeKnoWave program will operate from the Odawa Native Friendship Centre which will be able to provide social support to students who are embarking on a challenging learning experience and a significant career change. Furthermore, local Aboriginal authorities will be involved in the influencing of curriculum to ensure that case studies and examples reflect local conditions and values and to ensure that there is maximum exposure of the program and accelerated transfer of delivery responsibility to local partners. Implementation The TeKnoWave program will commence delivery in 2003 with 20 students. The program will be subject to continuous evaluation as the national roll-out plan is developed. Word of mouth has developed significant interest and the screening process will select candidates who have strong aptitude and strong leadership characteristics. Resources are being secured to underwrite the cost of approximately $20,000 per student. Financing is being secured to support the operation of the TeKnoWave program and to put in place an infrastructure of tuition-based support for the students. Willis College instituted the Joseph T. Norton Scholarship in 2001 to the support an Aboriginal student to attend the college and this is an example of how other organizations can support the program. The initial implementing partnership is led by Willis College and includes key leader organizations: the AHRDCC, the University of Winnipeg, Donna Cona Inc. and the Odawa Native Friendship Centre. TeKnoWave enjoys the support of Aboriginal leaders, such as Grand Chief Joseph Norton and the Assembly of First Nations, and leaders from the government and industry. An active partnership program is underway to engage other industry, government, and community partners in the TeKnoWave program. NATCON Papers 2003 Les actes du CONAT 6