On January 20th, 2022, fifty Nova Scotian participants successfully graduated with tech-based certificates thanks to the support and encouragement of NPower Canada.

NPower Canada is a charitable organization that provides high-demand IT (Information Technology) programs and skills training at no cost to underserved young adults.

Focusing on diversity and inclusivity, NPower Canada creates an inviting atmosphere for people from underserved communities, encouraging participants from any cultural ethnicity, gender or socio-economic background to participate in the skills training necessary for the increasingly and ever-changing tech-world.

NPower Canada provides additional support to Indigenous participants through their Indigenous Youth Tech Career Pathways. This program provides First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) young adults Elder-led counselling to support their successful completion of the NPower Canada program. NPower Canada has partnered with FNMI community leaders and stakeholders in designing more inclusive programming for Indigenous youth interested in exploring and pursuing IT careers.

Activities for Indigenous participants include:

• Opening prayers and sharing circles
• Career and personal exploration activities
• Life skills coaching
• Culturally relevant wrap-around support

Not only that, participants partaking in the Indigenous Youth Tech Career Pathways, will have access to:

• Elders or Knowledge Keepers, programs, and additional services.
• Laptops for youth who lack home computer access.
• Continued wraparound support from community agencies throughout the 15-week session including support from Elders or Knowledge Keepers.
• Once enrolled, youth will continue to receive counselling and guidance from Elders, along with maintaining their connections to services provided by referral partners.
• Graduates of this session get to share their knowledge and have the opportunity to become mentors for the new cohorts.

Support from NPower Canada for all of their participants goes beyond the classroom and doesn’t stop at graduation. They will be able to;

• Grow their sphere of influence with professional networking opportunities
• Gain access to advanced programs on emerging technologies only available to alumni
• Receive career assistance with job search, interview prep, and salary negotiation
• Attend professional workshops and panel events
• Serve as a guest lecturer, mentor, or NPower Canada ambassador

Alumni have exclusive access to alumni programs such as the Google Project Management Program which NPower Canada is currently offering and alumni have the opportunity to upgrade their current skill levels. Upon completion of the program, the alumni will qualify for over 100 hours of project management education. The accumulation of these hours can be put towards Project Management Institute Certifications like the globally-recognized Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® in the future. Some of the courses include:

• Foundations of Project Management
• Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project
• Project Planning: Putting it all Together
• Project Execution: Running the Project
• Agile Project Management
• Capstone: Applying Project Management in the Real World

To date, NPower Canada has successfully enrolled a total of 139 underserved, Nova Scotia youth into its program.The Nova Scotia graduates of NPower Canada have obtained successful job placement rates reflecting the substantial demand amongst local employers for digital talent. 81% of the first two graduating cohorts of 2021 have secured employment within 5 months of graduation and over 50% of the third cohort have secured employment less than one month after completing training in December 2021. NPower Canada has built strong employer partnerships with local employers including Teleperformance, Eastlink, RBC, and S&P Data.

Recent graduate, Hunter C, spoke at last week’s graduation ceremony;
“NPower Canada has not only helped me develop as a person, but also gave me the skills to greatly improve my employability. The staff is always there for you, and wants to see you succeed. I am proud to have been a part of this program, and it has given me what I need to start a career, and strive for the things that are important to me in life.”

“I am incredibly thankful for the help I received along the way. From the tips on writing the perfect resume for me, the mock interviews, or even all of the questions I had to better understand what it is like going through the hiring process, I am not sure where I would be today if not for the support I was given during my job search.”
NPower Canada works with prospective employers at no charge in several ways including consultations to learn more about the company’s needs and expectations for potential employees. The efficiency of focusing on tailored-type training for participants as well as pre-screening and referrals ensures the participant hired will best suit the needs of the employer. NPower Canada also provides long term support with both the potential employers and participants by assisting with onboarding.

Young adults ages 17 to 30 years old are invited to apply for the next upcoming online training program running from January 31, 2022, to May 13, 2022. The Junior IT Analyst program available in Nova Scotia runs for fifteen weeks and is fully funded and completely free for young adults in Nova Scotia.