On July 31 at the Telus building in downtown Vancouver, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced they would be donating $525,000 to Canada Learning Code, Canada’s leading national charity championing digital literacy education.
Canada Learning Code has 35 chapters in Canada and 13 travelling computer labs that serve various communities nationwide.
The donation will go toward supporting the development of a Canadian kindergarten-to-grade 12 computer science education framework as well as coding education programs and help the organization reach over 275,000 youth across the country.
At the announcement event, a group of panelists discussed the future of work and how companies are helping Canadians better prepare for the workforce of tomorrow.
“According to Brookfield Institute, 42% of all jobs in the Canadian labour market are at risk of automation,” said Melissa Sariffodeen, CEO of Canada Learning Code.
“It is estimated that only 5% of all of those jobs will be completely replaced…what that means is that everyone’s work is drastically changing and that Canadians need a different set of skills than they once had in order to thrive in our economy."
In the room, a slew of Amazon’s software and technical engineers sit listening to the presentation, many of whom have benefitted directly from coding and other technology-based learning platforms often offered at some of today’s largest growing companies.
“My daughter recently went off to college, and the other day I asked her what she thinks her job will be when she grows up and she replied, ‘Mom, I don’t think the job I am going to have has even been invented yet,’” said Beth Galetti, senior vice-president of worldwide human resources at Amazon.
“It is important for all of us to be nimble and curious as the future of work evolves…At Amazon, we know that innovation creates jobs and we are seeing it happen in our company.”
Galetti and her company Amazon will soon be a massive driving force in Canada’s economy and technology hub, bringing over 3000 high-tech jobs to the company’s future 416,000 square foot corporate office location when it opens in the heart of downtown Vancouver in 2022.
“There is, among thought leaders, a certain anxiety when what the future of work is comes up …” said BC Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology Bruce Ralston. “I think there is an opportunity for strong recommendations to guide the government I am part of and future governments in thinking of how to ensure prosperity in a very competitive world.”
