IBM SkillsBuild: Web Development

For Dr. Ibrahim A. Shaikh, ADM 4115 MBA 6113

Molly Howell UNB 3656949

Nikhil Plappally UNB 3735998

Akash Shaji UNB 3714282

Farah Taman Nur UNB 3745882

reskilling and upskilling of individuals in New Brunswick?

With over 820k people in New Brunswick (NB Population) and an ever-growing

workforce, citizens need to enhance their abilities and create lasting skills to compete in the

global workforce. One of the many methods an individual could take to enhance their skill set is

joining IBM SkillsBuild. On SKillsBuild, the online platform, people can take an assortment of

lessons and educate themselves on practical skills for their future careers.

With around 70% of the population engaged in the workforce as of 2022, (NB Workforce

Profile), NB has a large demographic of workers and now, more than ever, it is hard to stand out

amongst your peers.

IBM SkillsBuild can enhance the skills of New Brunswickers in a few ways, first, by

offering an all-inclusive platform for individuals to pursue valuable skills. This system allows

people to experience scenarios and learn topics not typically taught in school. By specifically

focusing on the digital workforce, SkillsBuild is able to give hands-on-experience with digital

tools, which is great for an aging population. Also, by creating badges and certifications, the

community support from IBM SkillsBuild is a great resource.

Finally, by connecting individuals with likeminded people, SkillsBuild is able to connect

potential workers with employers around the province. By providing accessible, tailored, and

industry-relevant learning experiences, paired with practical hands-on learning, certifications,

community support, and employment connections, IBM SkillsBuild is a great platform to reskill

and upskill the people of New Brunswick.

segments, or specific user groups that can benefit the most from the IBM SkillsBuild

platform.

The agricultural sector is one of the most important contributors to New Brunswick’s

economy, employing over 13000 people. Being one of the largest traditional industries, New

Brunswick is the home to some of the Agritech companies. The agricultural sector can benefit

from the IBM Skills Build platform as it still is a growing sector. New Brunswick is the central

hub for research in the Cybersecurity sector. The province has contributed a lot to the field of

cybersecurity with its extensive research and collaboration with the University of New

Brunswick, New Brunswick Community College, The J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology

Management & Entrepreneurship (TME), Cyber Centre, Ignite Fredericton, and the Canadian

Institute for Cybersecurity (CIC) and various other companies like IBM, Siemens. IBM Skills

Build could be very beneficial for this sector. Another sector that would benefit from the IBM

skills build platform will be the Information and Communications Technology sector. New

Brunswick has discovered some of the most successful ICT companies. Many other technology

leaders like IBM, Salesforce, CGI, Xerox, MNP, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and more

have made New Brunswick their hub. The energy innovation sector can also benefit from the

IBM Skills Build platform as more and more research is taking place in the province.

This tool may also assist students and new grads to enhance their job-ready abilities and

make their resumes more appealing to companies. People who want to enter the profession or

improve in their jobs might benefit from acquiring new skills and remaining current. Small and

medium-sized business owners may use this platform to teach their staff, providing them with

the skills needed to grow their firm. The First Nations communities may utilize this platform to
obtain new skills, which can help them get a job. Another category of community members

would be aspiring entrepreneurs or new business owners, who may utilize this platform to help

them succeed in their endeavors. People also eager to change occupations might learn new

talents to broaden their portfolio. Educators and instructors may also use this platform to acquire

new content and teaching methods, as well as stay current on industry trends, to better prepare

their students for the workplace.

3) Topic Exploration: For the chosen topic, evaluate what is covered comprehensively on

the platform. Highlight any areas that may be lacking, providing potential suggestions for

IBM to enhance this e-learning platform.

The web development training offered by IBM SkillsBuild prepares students for careers

in web development by covering a wide range of skills. The goal of this curriculum is to give

students the skills necessary to:

 Write well-thought-out, testable, and efficient code through which participants learn the

foundations of effective, maintainable coding techniques, which help to keep the codebase

manageable and scalable.

 Combine information from databases, APIs, and back-end services: It is essential to

comprehend how web applications' front ends and back ends are connected. This entails

obtaining information to show on the user interface from databases and APIs.

 Use frameworks, libraries, and HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create websites: The

fundamentals of web development are addressed, including the use of JavaScript for

functionality, CSS for styling, and HTML for structure. Using different frameworks and

libraries to improve and expedite web development processes is also covered.

technical needs. This ability entails speaking with stakeholders to comprehend their demands

and converting those needs into development-related technical specifications.

The curriculum is divided into three primary sections: Awareness, which covers the

fundamentals of web development; Comprehension, which entails a deeper exploration of the

subject and the application of newly acquired abilities; and & Application, emphasizing the use

of project-based learning to apply new abilities in the workplace.

After completing this course, students will also have the chance to obtain validated

professional credentials that they may use to demonstrate their skills to prospective employers on

professional networks like LinkedIn.

Even while the IBM SkillsBuild web development training offers a strong foundation in

many important areas, some web development topics are either not thoroughly covered in the

course or may call for extra resources for a better understanding. These are some areas that,

given the knowledge supplied, may be deemed to be insufficient or requiring additional research

outside the purview of the IBM SkillsBuild web development training:

 Sophisticated Frameworks and Libraries: Although employing frameworks and libraries is

mentioned in the course, it is unclear how much is covered in terms of sophisticated and

contemporary frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, or backend frameworks like Express for

Node.js. For the development of intricate and highly dynamic online applications, these

frameworks are essential.

 Full Stack Development: It seems the training concentrates on the fundamentals of web

development, particularly regarding front-end (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) technologies

and simple back-end integration. Additional resources may be needed for full stack
 development aspects including database management, architecture design, and deeper back-

end development expertise.

 DevOps and Deployment: While not specifically covered in the course outline, the process of

deploying web applications to production involves the use of DevOps tools like Docker,

Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment.

 Security Best Practices: Although the fundamentals of web development are taught,

additional training may be required for specific security best practices, such as protecting

web applications from common vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10), putting authentication and

authorization in place, and using data protection strategies.

 Performance Optimization: Although not covered in length in the overview, techniques for

improving website performance, such as sophisticated front-end optimizations, back-end

performance tuning, and database optimization, are crucial for a comprehensive skill set in

web development.

 State Management: It's critical to comprehend state management technologies, such as

Redux for React applications, for complex applications. The course material does not

specifically address these.

 Mobile-First Design and Development: Although web development is covered, web

developers are increasingly required to comprehend responsive design and other mobile-first

design and development strategies to guarantee that websites work well across a range of

devices.
 References

“NB Workforce Profile 2022.” GNB, Dec. 2022,

www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ohr-brh/pdf/other/workforce-profile-2022.pdf

New Brunswick Population 2024. worldpopulationreview.com/canadian-provinces/new-

brunswick-population.

eldR. (2023, June 23). IBM SkillsBuild: A Powerful Adult Learning Platform.

Our Sectors - Opportunities New Brunswick. (2021, March 10). Opportunities New Brunswick.

https://onbcanada.ca/sectors/

SelfLearnGuru.com. https://selflearnguru.com/2023/06/23/what-is-ibm-skillsbuild-and-is-it-

good-for-adult-learners/