We’ve discussed this topic on the Canvas Info Tech blog before, but we’re always eager to take another look at the incentives that might exist for people to pursue online information technology training, other than in order to make great money in the IT field.
For some candidates, certified scrum master training or ITIL training may just be ways to put a little more structure and marketability behind their natural talents for programming and systems analysis. For others it might just be a matter of building IT skills into their CVs at a time when those skills are increasingly relevant to an ever larger range of careers on the fringes of IT, or outside of it entirely.
But in the context of this post, we’re interested in those who have taken an interest in online information technology training on the basis of a belief that it can provide them with not only a lucrative career, but also a fulfilling one.
Our previous posts on the subject have pointed, for instance, to an editorial by Melinda Gates on the altruistic projects that can be undertaken by people who are skilled in programming and other IT-related tasks. Others have noted the rise of information technology training programs targeting poor and underserved communities, in order to point out that online IT training can not only supplement those programs but can lead people toward careers as training and development specialists serving those communities and providing them with a leg up in the 21st century job market.
But there are many other highly specific projects that serve altruistic outcomes through the application of high-level IT skills. Some such projects are in the works now. Some are surely nearing completion, but just as surely, some are waiting for new team members who can utilize newfound skills within the professional context described by CSM or ITIL training. And others still are waiting for the latest graduates of information technology training programs to dream them up in the first place.
Fortune recently held its Most Powerful Women Summit, and some of the magazine’s own press in the wake of the event pointed to the emphasis that certain tech firms have chosen to place on projects that promise to do good for the environment, or child health, or the quality of life for people in the developing world.
Projects matching these descriptions were detailed by female executives from the IBM, JP Morgan Chase, UNICEF, and the startup Uncharted Play, in response to the question “Can technology be used for good?”
For these women, the answer is a resounding yes, and we’re hopeful that it will be the same for a wide range of people who are looking at online information technology training as a means to better and better outcomes not just for themselves but for the world as a whole.