President Iván Duque presents Misión TIC 2022, the program that will train 100,000 programmers in the country

For the first time in the country, the National Government, headed by the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications ( MinTIC ), is developing a massive programming training strategy, through which it seeks to expand employment and growth opportunities of Colombians.

ICT Mission 2022, which was presented today by President Iván Duque and ICT Minister Karen Abudinen, will benefit 100,000 citizens in the next two years, who will develop specific skills related to information technologies, especially in software development and programming. .

Those chosen as beneficiaries of this program will learn different programming languages and English. In addition, they will develop skills such as teamwork, perseverance and professional ethics, which will make it easier for them to perform optimally in the world of work, whether through an enterprise or a job in an organization.

"With Misión TIC 2022 we begin to mark a transformative milestone forever in our country. This is the great bet for a new generation of Colombians. We are proposing to train 100,000 programmers by 2022, who will have the ability to participate in projects of Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Robotics and also the integrated management of relational databases; all linked to a digital economy process that is growing exponentially in the world. With this mission, Colombia is making the greatest transformation of human training for the country to lead the process of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Latin America, "said President Iván Duque.

For her part, Minister Karen Abudinen stressed that: "We are changing lives with the strategic use of technologies. We continue to work continuously so that connectivity brings more opportunities to Colombians. President Duque, you entrusted me with the task of building, with the private sector and with entrepreneurs, a programming training program to reach 100,000 Colombian citizens. With this initiative, unprecedented in the country, we are opening doors for our young people and, in general, Colombians to access training of the skills that are already required. We are going to meet that goal in two years. We are in the race of opportunities and that is why we have named this program Mission TIC 2022 ".

In the same vein, the minister added: "Together with businessmen and entrepreneurs we are building this project so that it is just what the market requires, not only the Colombian market but also the international one. I invite more women to present themselves to the TIC Mission 2022 and thus we achieve a greater presence in this sector ".

Two learning paths

This training strategy will be developed through two independent learning paths. The first will be implemented in secondary education to benefit students in grades 10 and 11 from official schools who have basic knowledge in IT issues, technical secondary education or with in-depth knowledge of technology and information technology. For this group, the offer includes two curricula, both of 160 hours, in programming fundamentals and digital creative industries.

The second route will be aimed at Colombians interested in developing this training and strengthening their skills. This group includes undergraduate students of the technical, technological and university level, or in the process of training in education programs for work and human development; high school graduates with programming foundations; best graduates in SABER 11 tests, especially in mathematics, and participants in mathematics and programming Olympics, as well as the general population interested in developing new knowledge and skills. This group will have a training plan of five cycles, of 200 hours each.

Construction of the curriculum

The academic offer of Misión TIC 2022 was built in several work tables, with the participation of entrepreneurs, companies, academia and associations of the sector. The learning path has three basic cycles of programming fundamentals, basic programming and software development, and the possibility of taking two cycles of deepening in the development of web applications and mobile applications.

This ambitious program, which includes the main needs of the sector, will contribute in a concrete way to closing the digital divide and will connect Colombians with an improved quality of life, it will be divided into three phases. During this year, the enlistment phase will be carried out with a pilot in which 2,500 Colombians will benefit.

In 2021, the goal is to graduate 50,000 more programmers, and by 2022, the process will be completed with the training of 47,500 programmers, in order to achieve the goal of new talents, who will impact the development of Colombian or foreign companies and organizations with branch in Colombia.

The call will be open from today, August 19, until the 28 of the same month. Those interested can consult more information and access the requirements at www.misiontic2022.gov.co or on the MinTIC web portal www.mintic.gov.co calls section and at www.talentodigital.gov.co

Key dates of the call

• Registration open from August 19 to 28, 2020.
• The data validation will be carried out between August 28 and 31 to establish the list of cited for the entrance test, which will take place between September 2 and 4.
• The 2,500 people who meet the requirements and have the best score will be part of the piloting for the training, from September 14 to December 20, 2020
• 2,500 people will benefit from the pilot test.
• People who cannot access this first stage of training during 2020, in 2021 can make their presentation to the second stage with the start of training in April 2021.
• The third and final phase of the project will be in 2022 and will benefit 47,500 people.