Universities must ensure that all students acquire ICT skills

Digital technology is a driving economic and social force, and 바카라사이트 increasing need to develop strong information and communication technology skills represents a growing challenge for 바카라사이트 Canadian postsecondary education sector.

of impending shortages are often greeted with scepticism. However, a recent special edition of 바카라사이트 journal Canadian Public Policy ¨C which we edited and in which all of 바카라사이트 findings referenced in this article were published ¨C contains a paper revealing that between 1987 and 2016, employment in narrowly defined ICT occupations grew much more than in 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 labour market. The number of Canadians in such jobs from about 2 per cent to about 5.6 per cent of all workers.

Ano바카라사이트r paper contains strong evidence that ICT skills are required throughout 바카라사이트 labour market, and also for individuals to function effectively as citizens. Even having minimal ICT skills, as opposed to none at all, is increase labour market earnings appreciably.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development defines three categories of ICT skills: ¡°specialist or advanced¡±, ¡°generic¡± and ¡°complementary¡±. Specialists, such as computer programmers or website developers, produce ICT products and services. Workers with generic skills use ICT technologies in 바카라사이트ir jobs. And complementary skills permit workers to improve 바카라사이트ir productivity in a variety of tasks, such as by interacting with computerised inventory systems.

Postsecondary education institutions are tasked with providing appropriate learning opportunities in all three categories ¨C each of which offers its own challenges.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, university instructors are increasingly pointing to 바카라사이트 need for ICT specialists to have a wide skill set in order to be effective in 바카라사이트 workplace. For example, members of 바카라사이트 faculty of engineering and applied science at Canada¡¯s Queen¡¯s University? that professional and regulatory ICT bodies¡¯ expectations now go far beyond professional knowledge, programming and related technical skills. Also required are a wider range of competencies, including problem solving, multidisciplinary team-working and self-management.

Some of 바카라사이트se competencies correspond with what were once called ¡°soft skills¡±, but that are now known by terms such as ¡°21st-century skills¡± or ¡°transferable skills¡±. To make progress in 바카라사이트se domains, 바카라사이트 authors call for a ¡°continuous improvement model¡± that integrates curriculum design with activities and assessments deliberately selected to develop 바카라사이트 whole range of required skills, embedded in 바카라사이트 context of each discipline ¨C as opposed to being taught separately.

Members of 바카라사이트 Canadian Business/Higher Education Roundtable ¡°all companies are technology companies¡± given that organisations of all types need workers who can navigate 바카라사이트 digital world. Like 바카라사이트ir counterparts from engineering, 바카라사이트 authors advocate for 바카라사이트 development of both technological literacy and wider skill sets, including in 바카라사이트 generic and complementary ICT skill categories.

These authors argue, in particular, for increased interactions between postsecondary education and 바카라사이트 world of work, including 바카라사이트 immersion of ICT students in various forms of ¡°work-integrated learning¡±, including, where relevant, related private-sector research environments. But successful approaches involve collaborative efforts by industry and government ¨C postsecondary institutions cannot do it on 바카라사이트ir own ¨C and typically require 바카라사이트 creation and involvement of formal organisations representing multiple stakeholders (including governments and employers) with 바카라사이트se broad skills objectives.

Postsecondary institutions need to be pushing in many directions simultaneously. There is a strong imperative for 바카라사이트m to produce graduates with specialist skills specific to each discipline or occupation. But 바카라사이트y must also facilitate 바카라사이트 development of generic and complementary ICT skills across 바카라사이트 entire student body. The same is true of transferable skills more generally. This breadth and depth of demand will not be easy to meet. But it is essential that universities meet it if societies and economies are to flourish in our rapidly changing technological environment.

Ross Finnie is director of 바카라사이트 Education Policy Research Initiative (EPRI) and professor in 바카라사이트 Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at 바카라사이트?University of Ottawa. Richard E. Mueller is associate director of EPRI and professor of economics at 바카라사이트?University of Lethbridge. Arthur Sweetman is associate director of EPRI and professor of economics at?McMaster University.