Digital Talent Champion Award from Start Alberta

Press release:

InceptionU receives Digital Talent Champion Award from Start Alberta

Organization's CEO encourages employers to consider local talent first

Calgary, AB - Nov. 10, 2021 - The work being done by InceptionU to develop and foster our province’s critical pool of digital talent is being recognized by Start Alberta. InceptionU received the Digital Talent Champion Award, presented by SAIT, for its outstanding commitment and leadership in helping to develop the talent ecosystem and, as a result, accelerating innovation and diversification in Alberta.

“We are on the right path and, together, we can help Albertans acquire the critical skills needed for our future economy,” says InceptionU co-founder and CEO Margo Purcell. “We are honored to accept this award from Start Alberta, which recognizes the tireless efforts of our team and their dedication to help Calgarians gain competencies and find meaningful and sustainable careers in Alberta.” According to Platform Calgary, our city has a goal of 45,000 new positions by 2031 and there are currently about 2,000 open tech positions in our city. There is a shortage of skilled workers for a variety of roles including software developers, data analysts, UX/UI (user experience and user interface) designers and QA (quality assurance) testers, in addition to other non-technical jobs such as product/project management and marketing.

InceptionU is a design-focused organization that offers two programs - Full Stack Developer and Full Stack Designer - which can rapidly re-skill someone in 6-months. InceptionU has had 231 learners with a pre-COVID employment success rate of 80%; that number dropped to 54% during the pandemic, but is trending upwards as the economy recovers. The organization also puts a focus on resilience building essential skills, such as communication, collaboration, career exploration and systems thinking.

“The InceptionU program was a game changer for me,” says Yemi Obayemi, a former InceptionU learner and current project manager at WagePoint. “The program is project-based, where you actually work on projects as you learn concepts. I feel having that knowledge of full stack development and writing code definitely gave me the edge even though I’m not working in a developer role.”

Purcell invites employers to play a more active role in solving the digital talent challenge in our province. She encourages industry to work with organizations, like InceptionU, to develop job opportunities for experienced talent who are newer to tech, offer paid internships or mentoring to help developing talent gain experience, advocate for funding support for upskilling initiatives and give back financially to help offset the costs to participate in upskilling programs.

“I think we need a paradigm shift. Rather than hiring based on experience, how many years you’ve been in that specific role, we need to start hiring for potential. That means recognizing someone’s previous experience, their newly acquired skills, and the potential they bring to your company. You can shape them and help them grow into that role,” says Purcell.

Calgary payment processing company Helcim is a supporter of the program and hired an employee who completed the 6-month program.

“These programs attract people who are self learners and just want to build products and technology,” says CEO Nicolas Beique. “We’ve definitely seen those skills in the people who’ve come over from InceptionU. One in particular started just over a year ago and now heads our Payment Treasury System.”

The six-month full-time program accepts candidates of all ages and doesn’t require the traditional course prerequisites. Applicants are screened based on previous career experience, a technical skills assessment and largely on attitude.

“We really look for people who are curious, have open mindsets and are lifelong learners. They can be fresh out of high school or senior level professionals - I’ve seen all kinds of people be successful and reap the rewards of our program with well-paying full time jobs within weeks of finishing the program,” says Purcell.

InceptionU is accepting new applicants for its Full Stack Designer course launching November 29th. The program fee is $14,000 for self funders.

To learn more, you can visit www.inceptionu.com.