Tech talent is vital for Calgary to take advantage of opportunities in the new economy, and Lighthouse Labs will use support from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) to expand tech training for Calgarians looking to pivot their careers.
The OCIF Board of Directors approved up to $300,000 over three years for Lighthouse Labs, a coding-education company that offers 12-week bootcamp courses in web development. The support from OCIF will help accelerate expansion of its Web Development Bootcamp programming in Calgary to achieve a five-fold increase in the number of graduates to 150 annually by 2021.
The training and professional mentoring will provide a pool of junior web developers to Calgary’s workforce to meet the growing need for tech talent at all levels by local companies.
“Lighthouse Labs was built to help fast-growing Canadian tech communities develop talent efficiently and effectively, so it’s extremely exciting for us to be increasing our presence in Calgary as it's an indication of the incredible growth we have all witnessed in the city's tech sector. Calgary is going through an industrial transformation and we are proud and humbled to play a part in helping Calgarians transition with it,” said Jeremy Shaki, CEO of Lighthouse Labs.
Lighthouse Labs currently operates a satellite campus in Calgary and graduated 30 students from its cohorts in 2018. By 2021, at least 300 software developers are forecast to graduate with 270 finding placements in tech jobs or further post-secondary training within six months.
Lighthouse Labs will work with Calgary companies to address the coding talent needs across all industries in the city. A study for Calgary Economic Development earlier this year forecast local companies are planning to spend at least $18.4 billion on digital transformation in Alberta through 2022.
“Tech talent is vital for us to achieve the vision for Calgary in the New Economy and leveraging OCIF to train more people to take advantage of the opportunities is one of the most impactful things we can do for Calgary companies and Calgarians,” said Mary Moran, President & CEO, Calgary Economic Development, and Chief Executive Officer of the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund. “We have innovative people in Calgary to drive digital transformation and Lighthouse Labs is providing a path for them to acquire the skills for rewarding careers in tech.”
Lighthouse Labs is the eighth submission to be approved for funding.