AI Skills Launchpad Application

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About the Program

This program is funded by Upskill Canada, powered by Palette Skills, and the Government of Canada. As part of Upskill Canada, we are tracking student outcomes with the goal of creating greater access to career opportunities. Therefore, you will be asked to provide some information about your professional and demographic background.
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AI Skills Launchpad Eligibility Requirements

1. Work Experience

Applicants must have:

At least 3 years of cumulative work and/or volunteer experience:

Experience can be inside or outside Canada

Experience does not need to be consecutive

Experience must be outside of full or part-time studies (High School or Post-Secondary)

Work experience may be:

Paid or unpaid (volunteer)

Full-time (30+ hours/week) or part-time (less than 30 hours/week)

2. Career Stage (Mid-Career Status)

Applicants should be working adults who are:

Currently not employed in tech, clean tech, or advanced manufacturing, but want to transition into these sectors,

OR

Already working in these sectors but are under-employed and seeking:

Role expansion

Promotion opportunities

AI-focused upskilling

3. Technical Background

For all streams except SaaS Sales in the Age of AI, applicants must have a technical learning foundation, such as:

Software Development fundamentals,

OR

Equivalent technical coursework, training, or experience

4. Readiness & Commitment

Applicants must be able and willing to:

Participate in 8 weeks of synchronous online training (24 hours total)

Be available on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings

Attend weekly sessions and turn on their webcam

Complete all:

Course work

Group assignments

Assessments

Take part in employer-led case studies and project components

Complete follow-up surveys until October 2026

5. Technical Requirements (Equipment)

Applicants must have access to:

A computer or laptop with at least 16GB of RAM

A reliable internet connection suitable for video calls

A webcam and micophone to participate fully in online sessions

6. Legal Eligibility to Work in Canada

Applicants must:

Be legally eligible to work in Canada.

If on a work permit, have at least one year remaining on their permit after the program start date. (January 12)
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Full Name* This field is required.
First Name
Last Name
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Email* This field is required.
example@example.com
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Phone Number* This field is required.
Please enter a valid phone number.
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Postal Code* This field is required.
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Please provide a link to your LinkedIn profile* This field is required.This information will allow techNL to verify employment and education experience.
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Which of the following best describes your gender identity?* This field is required.
Woman
Man
Non-binary
Prefer not to say
Other
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What pronouns do you prefer?* This field is required.
She/Her
He/Him
They/Them
Prefer not to say
Other
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Are you a person with a disability?* This field is required.
Yes
No
Prefer not to say
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Do you identify as a member of a racialized community or a visible minority?* This field is required.The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour, regardless of birthplace." The term "racialized" is broader and includes those who may experience differential treatment on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, economics, religion, culture, politics, etc.
Yes
No
Prefer not to say
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Have you lived in Canada for more than 5 years?* This field is required.
YESNO
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How did you hear about this program?* This field is required.
Social Media Advertisements
LinkedIn
From a colleague
Direct outreach from techNL
Search Engine
Other
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Employment Status* This field is required.
Employed - Full Time
Employed - Part Time
Self Employed
Contract/Casual
Not Currently Employed
Prefer not to say
Other
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Total Years Work Experience in Canada* This field is required.
Less than 3 years
3 years
3-5 years
5+ years
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Most Recent Role* This field is required.Please provide the Job Title and Company
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Current or Most Recent Role* This field is required.Please provide the Job Title and Company
Job Title
Company
Please Select
Please Select
Permanent
Contract
Internship
Apprenticeship
N/A
Employment Term
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Describe your main responsibilities in your current or most recent role* This field is required.Please provide up to two paragraphs describing your most recent role.
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Ok
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Have you worked in any of the following sectors?* This field is required.
Pure Technology
Clean Technology
Advanced Manufacturing
I have not worked in those sectors
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List any relevant technical programs, courses or certificates completed* This field is required.If you haven't completed any, simply write N/A
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Which programming languages or tools have you used?* This field is required.
Python
Java
JavaScript/TypeScript
C#/.NET
SQL
I have not used these languages or tools
Other
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Where required, can you provide evidence to techNL of your technical learning background?* This field is required.This will not be required for the "SaaS Sales in the Age of AI" Workshop
YESNO
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How comfortable are you with digital tools?* This field is required.
Very Comfortable
Somewhat Comfortable
Neither Comfortable nor Uncomfortable
Somewhat Uncomfortable
Very Uncomfortable
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Which tools do you use regularly?* This field is required.
Cloud Platforms
Version control: GitHub, GitLab
Data Visualization Tools
I do not use these tools regularly
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Have you previously completed online training?* This field is required.
YESNO
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Course Descriptions

AI For Data Engineering

The AI for Data Engineering Workshop is a fully hands-on, end-to-end introduction to modern data engineering on AWS, guiding learners from foundational concepts to real cloud implementations. Over 12 weeks, participants move from core data fundamentals (ETL, ELT, batch and streaming) to building data pipelines for AI and machine learning applications, with exposure to AWS services including S3, Glue, Lambda, Athena, Redshift, EMR, RDS, DynamoDB, IAM, VPC, and serverless architectures.

AI for Data Science and Analytics

The AI for Data Science and Analytics course will not teach you data science or business analytics from the ground up. Instead, it will show you how to build AI agents that can perform those tasks effectively and accurately using state-of-the-art tools, along with evaluation workflows to iteratively improve your agents. By the end of the course, you'll have saved weeks of trial and error, gained clarity on what's possible today, learned which tools are best for different use cases, and be equipped to build custom agents and software long after the course is over.

AI for Cybersecurity

Learn the essentials of AI security in this hands-on course for developers. Through practical labs, you’ll learn to identify, exploit, and then fix critical vulnerabilities based on the OWASP Top 10 for LLMs—from prompt injection and data exfiltration to insecure tool integration. Beyond defense, the course shows you how to use AI as a security co-pilot to automate code reviews and speed up incident response, culminating in a capstone project where you harden a complete AI application end-to-end.

SaaS Sales in the Age of AI

Learn how to leverage AI to improve every stage of the sales process. You’ll understand how to accelerate sales by finding high-value leads, personalizing outreach, optimizing customer engagement, and streamlining CRM workflows.

Skills you’ll build include sales, prospecting, customer success, CRM management, SaaS product lifecycle, and customer engagement.
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Which workshop are you applying for? Choose only one option.* This field is required.Applicants are only able to apply for ONE workshop, since they will be running concurrently.
AI for Data Science and Analytics
AI for Data Engineering
Cybersecurity
SaaS Sales in the Age of AI
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Admission into AI for Data Engineering, AI for Data Science and Analytics or Cybersecurity Workshops require a minimum technical learning background in Software Development. If you are applying to one of these workshops, how have you gained your technical learning background?* This field is required.If you are applying to the "SaaS Sales in the Age of AI" workshop, disregard this question and select "N/A"
Completion of College or University program
Software Development bootcamp
Individual programming courses
Employer provided technical training
Self directed learning
N/A
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Explain why you are interested in this workshop?* This field is required.Please provide up to two paragraphs describing your interest in the selected workshop.
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Which cohort fits best with your schedule?This does not guarantee you will be placed in the cohort you selected. If you are available for both cohorts, please select both. If you are only available for one cohort, only select that cohort.
Cohort A (6PM-9PM once per week, on weekday evenings)
Cohort B (9AM-12PM once per week, on Saturday mornings)
I am not available for either of these cohorts
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What are your career goals over the next 2-3 years, and how will this training support those goals?* This field is required.Please provide up to two paragraphs outlining your career goals over the next 2-3 years, and how this training will support those goals.
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Each workshop is tentatively planned for weekday evenings, between February and March 2026. Sessions will be 3 hours in duration. Are you able to commit to being available during these times?* This field is required.
YESNO
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Each workshop is 24 hours total of mandatory online, synchronous instruction and requires the completion of assignments in addition to this time commitment. Are you able to fully commit and complete all requirements of this training?* This field is required.
YESNO
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Participants are expected to complete kickoff, mid-program, and post-program surveys. These surveys help techNL better support participants and constantly improve our programming. Do you agree to complete these surveys?* This field is required.
YESNO
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Participants must communicate to techNL when they have successfully accepted a new job, or if already employed, describe the impact it has had on their work. The final deadline for participants to submit this information will be October 31st, 2026. Do you agree to this requirement?* This field is required.
YESNO
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By submitting this application you are confirming your acknowledgement of and commitment to all course requirements. If you are accepted and do not fulfill these requirements and commitments you will be required to pay the full price of $5,000 CAD for the course.* This field is required.
YESNO
Should be Empty:

AI Skills Launchpad Eligibility Requirements

1. Work Experience

2. Career Stage (Mid-Career Status)

3. Technical Background

4. Readiness & Commitment

5. Technical Requirements (Equipment)

6. Legal Eligibility to Work in Canada

Course Descriptions

AI For Data Engineering

AI for Cybersecurity

SaaS Sales in the Age of AI