New part-time diploma perfect for Vancouver’s growing tech industry

 

Originally published in The Georgia Straight

While many industries are facing major business implications from the pandemic, others are experiencing a surge in demand. 

Even during these uncertain times, Vancouver’s tech sector continues to move forward, drawing global attention, increased investment, and top talent from around the world. These advancements go hand-in-hand with job opportunities for qualified graduates.

According to the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC), the tech industry within B.C. employs 100,000 tech professionals with approximately 75,000 working in Metro Vancouver.

The VEC also states that the Vancouver tech industry is growing at an average of six percent each year. This includes the local sectors focused on AI, Software as a Service (SaaS), social media, business intelligence, security and fintech (financial services technology), e-commerce, and web technologies.

Those interested in gaining meaningful employment within Vancouver’s tech industry can enroll in VCC’s Computer System Technology program.

The two-year diploma program is designed for prospective students who wish to work within the information technology industry. It’s a hands-on program in which students learn from the industry professionals and academic faculty.

Program graduates can work as mobile applications programmers, computer programmers, and network administrators.

To meet the needs of students, VCC has now made it possible to take the two-year program on a part-time basis, with a timeframe of five years to successfully complete the diploma. 

After graduation, students can continue their education at a local university to get a bachelor's degree, or continue at VCC with the Bachelor of Computer Systems Technologies program, which is currently in development for a January 2022 launch.

Like others at VCC, the Computer System Technology program features smaller class sizes to promote greater learning outcomes. Students enrolled in the program will get to learn in one of the new innovative computer labs at VCC’s downtown campus.

“We are seeing that our program is attracting students of all ages and experience,” says Reza Nezami, head of VCC’s Computer Systems Technology department. “They come with job skills and some of them need to juggle part-time work with education.”  

“We’ve now changed our program to make it more flexible for students to take the courses as it fits their schedule,” says Nezami.

Upon completion of this program, graduates will be able to:

• design, install and manage local area networks;
• develop and design computer programs in various programming languages;
• develop and design interactive web pages with multimedia components;
• design and develop interactive mobile application for mobile devices;
• install and configure computer hardware and software;
• perform systems analysis and design;
• develop apps for mobile devices;
• provide end-user technical support services;
• and troubleshoot and repair hardware problems.

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Learn more about potential career paths into Vancouver’s fast-growing tech sector by attending a free, upcoming information session.