Free Data Career Program. Alberta residents.
No tech background required.
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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.
Five Days. Real Skills. A Clear Path Forward.
A free, grant-funded intensive built for people at every starting point, including people with no formal data background. Four cohorts are open for registration. Seats are kept small by design, so they'll fill before the start dates arrive.
| Cohort | Dates | Time | Venue | Seats | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Cohort 1 | August 24 - 28, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM daily | Gulf Canada Square | 15 | Waitlist Only |
| Calgary Cohort 2 | September 14 - 18, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM daily | Gulf Canada Square | 15 | Waitlist Only |
| Edmonton | September 28 - October 2, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM daily | NAIT | 25 | Open |
| Online | Launching September 2026 | Self-paced (30 hours) | Delivered Online | Unlimited | Available |
Calgary Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 is currently waitlisted. Sign up for your most ideal course, even if it's currently waitlisted. Strong waitlist demand is what leads us to add more sessions.
All cohorts include the full 5-day program experience (30 hours total) and a Microcredential issued by the PPDM Association upon successful completion.
The Calgary and Edmonton cohorts run in one room for five days straight. You get direct time with the instructor, real conversations with the employers who speak during the week, and a cohort of people going through the same shift you are.
The online course covers the same five days of material. In person gets you the room.
A five-day journey through data literacy, data ecosystems, governance, management, and real-world data use.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Explore upcoming information sessions and watch recordings of past webinars and events.
Of Alberta data job postings are Analyst-level roles, the most accessible tier for people entering the field.
Hire based on demonstrated competency with no stated education requirement.
Ready to take the next step?
Choose the option that best matches where you are in your journey.
New to Unlocking Data Careers
You’ve already joined the Community
Registration is open to Alberta residents. You can hold a confirmed seat in the online course and a confirmed seat in one in-person cohort at the same time — that combination is allowed. Only one confirmed in-person cohort per person is permitted.
If a cohort is full, registrations for it are automatically placed on the waitlist instead of receiving a confirmed seat. A waitlisted spot does not count against your one in-person cohort limit, so you may be waitlisted for multiple cohorts while waiting for a confirmed seat.
Answers to common questions about the Unlocking Data Careers program.
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.
Analyzing Alberta’s
2026 data job market
Interviewing employers
across industries
Events in Edmonton,
Calgary
5-day courses + early
access for registrants
