Find Your Lane in Alberta’s Data Economy

Free online training for Albertans. Start before November 1 and work through it on your own schedule.

Free for Alberta residents. No tech background required.
Every Albertan who signs up gets in. Your courses unlock the moment you finish signing up.

Start Free Online
★ 4.7 / 5 average rating from past participants. See what they said

Brought to you by:

PPDM Association

Supported by:

Alberta Government
Newcomer
Getting Started
Career Change
Finding Your Path
On Your Terms

Data work is knowledge work. It can often be done remotely, on flexible schedules, and without the physical or environmental demands that make many traditional workplaces difficult to navigate. If conventional employment has put up barriers that have nothing to do with your actual ability to do the work, data careers are worth a serious look. This program is a low-barrier way to find out if they are the right fit for you.

What this program does for you

  • Delivers training in accessible venues in Calgary and Edmonton, with online options for every session
  • Focuses on foundational knowledge and career framing. No physical prerequisites or prior technical background required.
  • Shows you which data roles are remote-friendly, output-focused, and built around what you produce rather than where you sit
  • Connects you with employers who hire on demonstrated competency, not on work history that interruptions or barriers may have affected

You’ll walk away with

  • A clear picture of which data roles are realistic and accessible for your situation
  • A credential that demonstrates what you know, independent of how your work history looks on paper
  • A starting point that does not require navigating the usual barriers
  • Connects you with employers who hire on demonstrated competency, not on work history that interruptions or barriers may have affected

Free for Albertans. All five courses open from day one. How to get in

Free for Albertans. Self-Paced. Start Before November 1.

The Online Course

Five courses, about 30 hours of material, built for people at every starting point, including people with no formal data background. There is no selection process and no seat limit. Sign up and start before November 1. Fill out the short sign-up and your join link appears on the screen as soon as you finish.

How You Get In

Three steps, a few minutes. Every Albertan who signs up is in.

01

Fill out the sign-up

Two short pages: your contact details, then a few questions about where you’re starting from. There are no right or wrong answers.

02

Click “Unlock my courses”

Your join link appears on the screen right away. We email you the same link so you can come back to it later.

03

Join and start Course 1

The link opens our learning space on Mighty Networks. Set up your profile (about two minutes), then open Course 1: Data Literacy.

Start Step 1

Free for Albertans. Start before November 1. Your join link appears the moment you finish.

What You Get

Everything you need to build your data skills, on your schedule.

Format

Self-paced online

Delivered through our online learning community on Mighty Networks.

Time

About 30 hours

No set class times. Start before November 1, then go at whatever pace works for you.

Access

All five courses, day one

No approval to wait for. Start Course 1 the same day you sign up.

Cost

Free for Albertans

Funded by the Government of Alberta. No fees, no catch.

Credentials

One for every course you pass

Finish all five and you also earn the full Unlocking Data Careers program credential from the PPDM Association.

Quizzes

70% to pass, unlimited retries

Progress saves as you go, and it works on your phone.

In-person and virtual cohorts: The 2026 Calgary cohorts and the September virtual class have wrapped up. The online course is how the program runs now, and it covers the same five courses.

Course Outline

A five-day journey through data literacy, data ecosystems, governance, management, and real-world data use.

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Day 1: Data Literacy
6 sections

Six sections built around one question: what is data, and why does it matter? You'll learn the four relationships everyone has with data - create, manage, understand, and use - how to tell trusted data from data that merely sounds trustworthy, and how to organize information so it tells an accurate story instead of a misleading one. The day closes by mapping functional, domain, and behavioral data competencies to real job roles, so you leave with language for describing data work you may already be doing under a different title.

Data Literacy Data Trust Data Competencies Career Mapping
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Day 2: Introduction to Data Ecosystems and Data Objects
7 modules

Seven modules on how data survives changes in people, process, and technology without losing its meaning. The central concept is the data object: defining and managing information around real business meaning - a well, a shipment, an inspection - independent of whichever database, file format, or software happens to store it. You'll also learn to recognize data attenuation , the loss of content, context, or precision as data moves through systems, before it becomes an expensive problem to fix.

Data Ecosystems Data Objects Business Meaning Data Attenuation
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Day 3: Data Governance
6 sections

Six sections on who owns data, who is accountable when it's wrong, and what a working governance program actually requires. You'll learn the distinct roles of an executive sponsor, governance council, data owners, data stewards, and data custodians. The day grounds these concepts in real cases involving significant financial and regulatory consequences from data failures. These aren't abstract lessons. They're the kind of stakes data governance professionals manage - and why the role exists.

Accountability Data Ownership Data Stewardship Governance Programs
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Day 4: Introduction to Data Management
Core foundations

A grounding in how organizations manage data across its lifecycle: how it gets created, stored, kept accurate, and eventually retired. The full PPDM curriculum covers 17 components, from governance and architecture to security, master data, and data quality. This day focuses on the core building blocks a newcomer needs, not the full technical depth, so you leave with the vocabulary and the big picture, with room to go deeper later if the work calls for it.

Data Lifecycle Data Quality Architecture Master Data Data Security
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Day 5: How Data Is Used
Capstone

The capstone day brings data literacy, ecosystem thinking, governance, and management together to show how they work as one system instead of four separate subjects. You'll connect what you learned in the first four days to real workplace decisions - how data supports operations, solves business problems, and drives strategy. You'll leave with a clear picture of where your skills fit and what to do next.

Business Decisions Operations Strategy Career Direction
Five days. One connected view of data.

By the end of the course, you'll understand the language, roles, responsibilities, and systems behind modern data work - and have a clearer idea of where your skills fit and what you can do next.

See How Unlocking Data Careers Can Help You Succeed

Explore upcoming information sessions and watch recordings of past webinars and events.

57%

Of Alberta data job postings are Analyst-level roles, the most accessible tier for people entering the field.

22%

Hire based on demonstrated competency with no stated education requirement.

Most Albertans who qualify for data roles don't know it yet.

From Past Participants

What People Said After Finishing

Taking this program was like looking at a forest of data topics from five different sides. I now have new knowledge of the lifecycle of data and a bunch of data-related seed planted. Whatever my next data career steps are, the foundation built and perspective provided help to fill in the “whys” before simply going into the “whats”.

Raymond

Unlocking Data Careers participant

4.7/5

Average overall rating

21 of 22

Feel more prepared for an entry-level data role

3.0 > 4.0

Average self-rated confidence (out of 5) across six job-readiness areas, before and after

9.2/10

Average likelihood to recommend a course to a friend

From 22 end-of-program surveys and 50 individual course ratings submitted by 2026 participants, August to October 2026.

Your Next Step Starts Here

Free for Albertans. Start Before November 1.

Every Albertan who signs up is in. No waitlist and no selection process. A few minutes to sign up, then you start Course 1.

Open to Alberta residents

New to Unlocking Data Careers

A few minutes to sign up, then your join link is on the screen.

Start Free Online

Free online training · Five courses · Self-paced

Your join link shows on the screen when you finish signing up, and we email it to you as well. If the email is not in your inbox within a few minutes, check your Promotions or junk folder.

Already in the course? Log in to Mighty Networks

Registration Policy

Registration is open to Alberta residents until November 1, 2026. There is no selection process: every Albertan who completes the sign-up is invited into the online course. There is no seat limit, no waitlist, and no cohort to choose. Sign up once and you have access to all five courses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions about the Unlocking Data Careers program.

Building Alberta’s Data Workforce

PPDM and Government of Alberta are collaborating to create a clear path for data careers. This program guides everyone from newcomers to veterans toward in-demand data roles while showing real-time program progress.

Program Progress Tracker

Research

Analyzing Alberta’s
2026 data job market

Employer

Interviewing employers
across industries

Outreach

Events in Edmonton,
Calgary

Training

Online course
open until November 1