There is a dearth of talent within the world of blockchain.  The reason is a simple one – the current talent pool isn’t large enough to support the growth being seen within the industry.  This has led to those with specialties within the industry being able to command large premiums for their services.

With the rise in interest with regards to blockchain, we have seen multiple educational outlets begin to develop industry-specific curriculums.

George Brown College

The latest institution to develop such a curriculum is located in Toronto, Canada.  Taking place at their Casa Loma Campus, George Brown College has recently released details for their new course, simply named, ‘Blockchain Development’.

Albert Danison of George Brown commented on the recognition of a demand for talent in the industry.  He stated, “This program was developed with input from leading industry professionals in response to skyrocketing demand for advanced blockchain skills and expertise…The most significant challenge inhibiting growth in blockchain today is sourcing qualified talent. With this new program, we are helping build the workforce that Canada needs to harness and ensure mainstream adoption of the technology.”

This opportunity is being offered as a fulltime course load.  Financially speaking, the course will cost interested parties a sum of $7,580 CDN.  Those participating in the course will receive roughly 20hrs per week of industry-specific education over the course of 1 year.

In their program guide, George Brown describes the course as focusing on, “designing and implementing decentralized applications by leveraging blockchain technology. The three-semester program is designed to also thoroughly cover full stack development to give potential students all the tools they need to succeed in this emerging and exciting field.”

Opportunity in the GTA

While George Brown may be offering the “…first comprehensive certificate program in blockchain technology offered by a Canadian college”, they are not the first to dabble in the sector.  To date, we have seen multiple crash-courses being held throughout the GTA focusing on blockchain.

An example of this would be the Blockchain Academy.  Offered through a partnership with York University, this program offers various ‘certification packs’.  These packs focus on more niche aspects of the industry, and typically take place over the course of a 3 day span.

International Competition

The recognition of industry demand is not solely found in Canada.  In recent months we have seen various educational opportunities from multiple well known institutions, including both M.I.T, and Oxford University.

These courses, however, are much briefer than those being offered by George Brown.  The courses being offered at M.I.T and Oxford University have a duration of 6 weeks.

Blockchain Workers Needed

Despite the opportunities briefly discussed here, there is still a huge void that needs to be filled within the industry.  Due to the length of necessary education, and the rapid evolution of the industry, it will be years before the blockchain job market is saturated.