Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER FEBRUARY 2018 24 FEATURES RECRUITMENT Attracting the right talent Amazon's consideration of Canada highlights need for skilled ICT professionals By Stephen Cryne and Martin Hrobsky C anada's position as a world-class hub for infor- mation and communica- tion technology (ICT) has been validated with the recent an- nouncement by Sidewalk Labs, a division of Alphabet (a.k.a. Google), to invest in Toronto. Facebook recently announced the opening of an artifi cial in- telligence lab in Montreal. e Vancouver region boasts the likes of Shopify and Microsoft, and Southern Ontario is often referred to as Canada's Silicon Valley, home to Blackberry and many of the countries fastest- growing startup fi rms. ese are all big deals. Canada beat hundreds of cities across the world to be selected for these in- vestments, and proves that it can attract the largest international players in the fi elds of technology and artifi cial intelligence. Over the past few months, cit- ies across North America have been making a pitch for the lo- cation of Amazon's HQ2, which is estimated to employ 50,000 people directly (and many more indirectly though other jobs). Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto were top Canadian contenders — with support from all three levels of government — and in January, Amazon an- nounced Toronto had made the short list. Regardless of whether or not Toronto wins the Amazon bid, significant effort needs to be made in developing the ICT in- dustry and meeting increased employment demands in this sector over the next decade, if Canada is to become a global leader in the new economy. e reality is that today we sim- ply don't have the homegrown talent available to accommodate the move of a company the size of Amazon, without seriously jeopardizing other ICT fi rms and related industries. ere are about 811,200 in- formation communication and technology professionals cur- rently employed in Canada, but provinces across the country will require an additional 182,000 ICT workers by 2019, according to a study published by the In- formation and Communications Technology Council of Canada in 2016. Considering the unemploy- ment rate in this sector is hovering at less than three per cent — well below the current national rate of unemployment (5.7 per cent) — this will be a signifi cant headwind to growth. Toronto should be attractive as a destination for global ICT business for two key reasons, ac- cording to Ed Clark, former CEO of TD Bank and business adviser to Ontario's premier, speaking to the Business News Network in October. One, the Ontario government (not unlike other provincial governments) is investing in in- creasing the number of STEM graduates and, two, Canada's ability to attract international talent because of our inclusive society and welcoming approach to immigration. Clark's second point is essen- tial to sustain and build Cana- da's ICT sector. Irrespective of whether or not Amazon chooses Canada for the location of its new headquarters, growth in the sec- tor will not be possible without looking outside our borders for international talent. Recently, Ipsos and the Ca- nadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC) conducted a comprehensive study of more than 10,000 employees in 20 countries about their willingness to relocate for work. Our research found that at- tracting those highly skilled work- ers, including employees in the ICT sector, is more diffi cult than it was fi ve years ago. The fact is, for many global employees the increasingly com- plicated political, social and eco- nomic realities of the world today are making them more reluctant and less willing to consider relo- cating for work. However, the same economic, social and economic complica- tions that are softening this de- sire are realities that Canada has not faced. In fact, these are areas of great strength when it comes to our country's ability to attract the best and the brightest from around the globe. Compared to fi ve years ago, the proportion of those who express a desire to relocate to Canada has actually increased, which is in contrast to trends observed in other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and across the globe more generally. Canada is increasingly viewed as a top destination for relocation among global employees will- ing to make the move to another country, including those in the ICT sector. Canada is now the second des- tination of choice for employees in this sector, trailing only the Unit- ed States, which has declined as a destination of choice. Canada's strong position as a destination for skilled workers can be directly attributed to our unique status as a country that has a strong and stable economy, a progressive society, and policies that are attractive to internation- al workers. Looking specifi cally at global employees who work in the ICT sector, the overwhelming major- ity would only relocate to a coun- try that has exactly what Canada already has: a high-quality and accessible health-care system (82 per cent); friendliness to im- migrants (80 per cent); a good so- cial security system (80 per cent); a high-quality and accessible education system (74 per cent); and an innovative economy (73 per cent). e research shows that those factors — the most important fac- tors to global employees when de- ciding whether to relocate for work — play to Canada's advantage. Global employers need to know that not only does Canada have a strong pool of homegrown talent, it's also well-positioned to attract the best and the brightest international talent needed for business growth. Canada also has a great oppor- tunity to promote the country to skilled workers around the world who want to be a part of a growing and innovating economy, regard- less of whether or not Amazon chooses Canada. This is unique opportunity and one we can ill aff ord to miss. For that reason, governments at all levels must continue to work with the business community to identify growing skills gaps and, in addition to investing in developing homegrown talent, expand policy levers in immigra- tion systems and the temporary foreign worker programs to ad- dress those gaps. Both in Toronto, Martin Hrobsky is a vice-president at Ipsos Public Aff airs, and Stephen Cryne is president and CEO of the Canadian Employee Relocation Council. Credit: Myvisuals (Shutterstock) Credit: SeaRick1 (Shutterstock) Government must work with business to identify growing skills gaps. Amazon's headquarters in Seattle.

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