Students take part in IT pilot program

Local students are getting college level training and employment skills as they take part in the Information Technology User Support (I-TUS) pilot project which is a venture by Okanagan College and three school districts, including School District No. 83 (North Okanagan-Shuswap).

ITUS (I-TUS) or IT User Support is a 150-hour course done through Okanagan College. By completing the ITUS micro-credential, students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to service computers and support users of infrastructure and computing technology systems. The skills and knowledge learned can be used in a variety of careers in the Information Technology sector and students can also build on the micro-credentialing towards a diploma. This is a dual credit course so students receive four Grade 12 credits towards high school graduation and two course credits towards Okanagan College’s Infrastructure and Computer Technology Diploma.

There are five students in the pilot project with three of them from SD83. Students taking the course started in late April and go until mid-July in a hybrid system where the majority of the synchronized courses are completed at home but there is also some travel to the lab at the Kelowna Campus of Okanagan College.

Okanagan College Infrastructure Computing Technology (ICT) Professor Troy Berg instructs the course. “These students are very strong learners, quick and talented. It’s (the class) a real pleasure to teach. We’re having some fun here!” he adds.

Local students Jacob Hepburn, Leo DeRosa, and Justice Skelhorne are taking the course and are finding it very interesting. Jacob is planning on pursuing a career in mechanical engineering at the University of Ottawa, Leo is headed to the University of Victoria to take Computer Science, and Justice is looking at furthering his education in web design and development.

Leo mentioned that he was surprised at how well the Gateway to Tech program helped him in preparing for the ITUS program. Jacob noted there was more mathematics involved than he expected, “which is cool,”. Justice added the course is definitely meeting and exceeding his expectations, and he has learned a lot of useful things in the class that he is sure he will use going forward.

SD83 Career Education Coordinator George Richard explains ITUS is one of two technology dual credit courses done in partnership between Okanagan College and School District 83. The other course is Gateway 2 Technology (G2T), an introductory Information Technology (IT) course that covers overviews involving computer hardware, networking, cyber security, programming, and web design.

Starting this September, 20 SD83 students will be taking this evening course at the Salmon Arm campus of Okanagan College. There was more interest in the course than seats available, so some cuts had to be made. It is the first time the college has hosted a course for students from just one Okanagan school district, he adds.

Richard explains that if students like the G2T course, they can apply to be part of the ITUS course running from February to June of 2023.

If you are interested in more information about the technology-based dual credit course, please contact District Career Education Coordinator George Richard at grichard@sd83.bc.ca or the high school career counsellor at a high school near you.