With technology changing at an ever-increasing pace, people working in the IT field have to train continually to avoid becoming obsolete.
Several IT occupations require a combination of skills that come from different technical disciplines. After completing their initial training, whether through a professional or master’s degree program, IT professionals have to deal with innovations and new trends in the IT industry throughout their career.
Augmented reality, the Internet of Things, wearable technology (watches, glasses, clothing), the cloud, big data are all examples of innovations that have an impact on the IT labour market. To deal with this, it will be important for the worker to stay up to date, beginning by regularly monitoring the technology.
Continuing education will also retain an important place. On the internet, many sites and educational institutions offer tutorials and video training modules, sometimes on very specialized topics, either freely accessible or after payment.
Some continuing education services offer short-term training and customized courses to meet the specific needs of companies that want to update their employees’ knowledge. Some of these training programs are even subsidized by Emploi-Quebec. The TechnoCompétences organization has a list on its website.
TechnoCompétences has also launched a Workplace Learning Program (WLP) which provides training of skilled manpower for companies within their organization. This method of learning is based on mentoring, which arranges transmission of knowledge from an experienced worker, the journeyperson, to an apprentice. A Certificate of Qualification is awarded by the Ministry of Labour at the end of the training.