University of the Fraser Valley

Coding program offers hands-on experience in tech sector

Coding program offers hands-on experience in tech sector

Minister of Advanced Ed Andrew Wilkinson, Provost Eric Davis, and UFV students and alumni at the announcement of the coding program.

Want to gain industry experience and improve your coding skills? UFV has teamed up with the Ministry of Advanced Education to offer short-term training to prepare recent graduates for jobs requiring coding-related skills.

The one-month program begins May 1 and will be offered at UFV Five Corners in downtown Chilliwack. Thanks to special one-time government funding, the fee for the program is only $100.

The program will enhance coding skills, provide employment training, and help bridge into coding-related employment where you can apply these skills.

Local employment opportunities include in-house IT staff for many medium-to-large size companies, organizations, and municipalities in the region. There is also a growing ecosystem of tech companies in the Fraser Valley, including companies focusing on web design, IT support, network, security, and data mining.

Students will take classes from Monday to Wednesday and complete work experience placements on Thursday and Friday.

The program is aimed at recent UFV graduates (including those graduating this year) from the Computer Information Systems and Computing Science programs, and also open to Math and Physics grads or others if they have successfully completed COMP 251.

“The bridging program will help graduates refresh skills that they may have learned early on in their program, as well as learning advanced coding skills they may not have encountered,” says computing instructor Gabriel Murray, who will lead the program. “It’s also an opportunity to learn hands-on tools and practices used by local companies. There is always a difference between learning a concept in a classroom and lab and applying it in a real-world situation. We are looking forward to working with tech companies from Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Mission who are partnering with us in this bridging program.”

The program is a partnership between UFV Continuing Education and the Ministry of Advanced Education, which has provided one-time grant funding for short-term training to address the demand for coding related skills in the technology sector. This funding is aligned with the BC Skills for Jobs Blueprint and the #BCTECHStrategy.

Apply for the UFV Coding bridging program here by Fri, March 24.

Program Dates:

May 1-26, 2017. Full-time, Monday-Friday.

Classes: Monday-Wednesday, 9am-3:30pm

Work experience (unpaid): Thursday-Friday, Full-time hours (dependent upon employer hours)

Campus Location:

UFV Five Corners

46115 Yale Road

Chilliwack, BC