Group working to improve digital literacy in Niagara
Over the next three years, it’s expected Canada will face a shortage of 200,000 IT and computing jobs.
And yet, only three per cent of Canadian students are studying computer science in their undergraduate programs, according to a local organization that is on a mission to improve digital literacy in Niagara.
Code Niagara, founded by Niagara Falls resident Yashvi Shah, wants to empower and provide the community with the skills, tools and platforms needed to succeed in the digital age.
The organization’s vision is for all students in the community to have access to tech education to activate their future careers.
Shah attended Westlane Secondary School before going to McGill University in Montreal, and doing her master’s in information technology at University of Toronto.
“When I went to Toronto and Montreal, I found that the big cities have already mobilized — they’re ready, they’re encouraging their youth, they’re exposing them while they’re in school … just the concepts and the ideas, so that they can make an informed decision later on,” she said.
“Smaller communities like ours are being left behind, so I thought
instead of trying to bring Niagara to the city, let’s bring the city back to Niagara — let’s bring some of these really important skills back to Niagara, and make sure that our youth are prepared for really a changing Canada.”
The group, which engages students through hands-on workshops, personal mentorship sessions and lunch-and-learn talks with industry leaders, hosted its first information session Saturday at MacBain Community Centre.
Code Niagara encourages students between the ages of 12 and 18, and parents, to attend events.
“We want to create workshops to expose students to programming, to design thinking, to product management — all the kind of skills that are required for technical careers today,” said Shah, adding it’s also important to pair youth up with industry professionals.
“I realize not everybody wants to be a computer scientist, but you wouldn’t believe how many doctors and construction workers and retail staff actually use coding in their day-to-day lives.”
Coding, formally known as computer programming, is giving a computer a precise set of instructors on how to operate, said Shah.
“If you’re not able to do that, you risk getting left behind in various careers, not just the technology kind of niche,” she said.
Shah said she believes the Canadian economy is powered by its smaller communities, and the smaller communities is where “there’s no exposure.”
She said she has been asked “at least 100 times” since she has returned to Niagara two months ago what coding and computer programming is.
“We’re so used to clicking away on our screens that we don’t realize the back end to that, and as the world moves toward a more technological (world), as we see more robots coming in and artificial intelligence, coding is kind of like learning your ABC’s. The world is moving to writing novels, and Niagara hasn’t even learned its ABC’s is kind of the parallel that I draw.”