It comes to no surprise that the mobile world is taking over. From the success of the iPhone and Blackberry, to the booming popularity of the Android and tablet, more and more users are going mobile. Today, cell phones and tablets function just as well as desktop computers'there's email and document access, as well as applications that feed you the daily news, music, and games.

But before we go ahead and download the next popular app on the market, we're going to take you back to where it all starts: the creation of mobile apps and the learners behind it. Along with designers and product owners, mobile developers play an important role in the creation of applications; they ultimately put the app to life.

We teach students how to build mobile websites, responsive websites, websites that'll run across any device, and then how to leverage those same skills into mobile applications that could run on any platform, says Steve Griffith, program coordinator of the diploma in mobile application design and development at Algonquin College. First, students focus on web-based technologies like HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and PHP, then transition into the design and development on mobile platforms.

As a technical field, our programs are intended for individuals interested in the design, development and use of mobile device applications, games, or utilities, says Susanne Sampson, instructor of interactive media programs at North Island College (NIC) on Vancouver Island. When discussing the mobile application development certificate at NIC she says, As a college, we're fairly early adopters of a certificate like this and we tend to assume that students coming into this course will have some programming background just because this program is fairly intense; however, those without previous experience can ease in with NIC's diploma program.

Both Griffith and Sampson agree that the biggest challenge with working in this industry is keeping up with technology. We cover all the bases, so we teach students how to work with the native technologies, the web-based technologies, and the various design aspects, says Griffith, adding that students tend to find their niche after studying these subjects.

NIC's mobile application development certificate will be going in its second year since its soft launch last September. When describing the ideal person for this industry, Sampson says students should first be a user. I think that's really key, so they understand where this is going to go and what it means to them as opposed to learning it cold, she says. They need to be patient and they need to be long-time learners because once they get the mobile done, there's going to be something else around the corner.

With the technology constantly evolving in the mobile world, job demand is also on the rise. Within a week I was getting emails from people asking for graduates. We hadn't even brought in students to teach them and we were already having people asking us for graduates, says Griffith, after first getting approval for the program in 2012.

There is such a lack of mobile app developers out there right now, says Sampson, noting the top key search words on job board Indeed.com are mobile-related. It's a competitive world; so if a competitor has an app, you have to get one and that means you have to find someone who'll develop it for you.

Photo: Mark Oleksiy/THINKSTOCK