White Paper

In 2017, Alberta began a plan for diversification among many economic sectors in an attempt to ensure more sustainable, reliable and robust opportunities for growth. At the heart of these investments was a central focus on technology and its ability to propel both revenues and employment for the province. Anchored in primary evidence gathered from consultations with Albertan employers, and complemented by overall trend and data analysis, this study is an attempt to offer insight into the impact of technology and digital transformation on the Alberta labour force. With core digital occupations driving employment demand, this study forecasts critical employment trends for the top four high-growth sectors in the province until 2023. Section I of this report offers a historical overview of the Alberta economy. With emphasis on the energy sector as the (historically) most significant influencer of growth in the province, this section follows Alberta's economic and employment trajectory from 2008 to the recent recession.Section II provides a view of recent trends and future economic prospects for the province. Starting from Alberta's most recent journey into economic recovery, this section offers an introduction into the importance of technology for economic success and job growth.Section III paints a picture of Alberta's future by showcasing employment growth forecasted across Alberta's top four highgrowth sectors until 2023. For each sector, an analysis is provided of total employment, along with an understanding of the most in-demand digital and technical occupations. Employment forecasts for core digital roles and core technical roles are also included.Section IV provides an overview of Alberta's largest municipalities, with the most substantial technology footprint. Employment forecasts in these key jurisdictions are showcased until 2023. The cities represented are: Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge.Section V points to the top five in-demand digital roles in Alberta, followed by the critical skillsets needed by tomorrow's workforce.Section VI highlights supply trends in Alberta. Looking at recent developments across various streams such as new grads, women, immigrants and others, this section analyses the supply available to fill critical digital roles in Alberta's future economy and growth sectors. This section also provides a snapshot of self-identified skill competencies among Alberta's workers employed in the most in-demand digital roles.

Ontario's level of early-stage entrepreneurial activity is higher than the average among innovation-driven economies, ranking Ontario near to figures reported for national world leaders, which include Singapore, Israel, and the United States. Ontario's rate of opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship also ranks among the world's highest. Ontarians are quite aware of entrepreneurship, and they generally have a positive attitude toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial opportunities are believed to be abundant, and most Ontarians perceive conditions for starting businesses in the near future to be good

Calgary is a significant employer for the province of Alberta. Responsible for more than 30% of all employment in the province during 2016 and 44% of the province's tech workers10, the economic strength of the city cannot be understated. Other sectors, such as oil and gas, are beginning to utilize technology to help shape efficiencies, increase productivity and propel economic growth. Notable examples include shifts like the automation of drilling rigs, the use of underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in oil and gas extraction, and the increasing reliance on data analytics to influence decision-making. In short, technology is quickly changing our economy, bringing with it the demand for digital talent. Calgary possesses a wealth of highly-skilled talent with backgrounds like engineering and science; however, with the significant job loss during the recent economic recession, many of these workers are now looking for new opportunities in the technology sector. In early 2017, Calgary Economic Development, in partnership with Rainforest Alberta and the Alberta Ministry of Labour, launched an event called PivotTECH. The purpose of the event was to help highlight opportunities for these highly-skilled workers in the technology sector, while simultaneously providing insight to employers about the skills of this talent base 11. This event was considered a critical starting point for connecting highly-skilled job-seekers with employers seeking skilled talent. The key conclusion of this event was that many of the city's displaced workers appear to have an interest in transitioning - or œpivoting - to in-demand occupations like software development, however are unclear of the steps to take when it comes to making the transition. No other Canadian city has the wealth of highly-skilled STEM educated talent that Calgary has. Assisting this talent with finding pathways into in-demand roles, while highlighting their existing skillsets to employers, can be a key anchor in supporting meaningful employment for Calgarians. Strategies like these move the city ever closer to strong economic diversification and ultimately, a healthy, sustainable and reliable economic future. By engaging with employers across Calgary's economy, this report showcases the most indemand digital occupations in the city, along with their corresponding skill needs. At the same time, the report also provides a fact-based and detailed skills analysis of the city's highly-skilled displaced workers. The results of this study will be incorporated into a web platform that will be developed by ICTC and Calgary Economic Development in early 2019 to educate displaced Calgarians on how to make the transition to high-tech opportunities.

Immigrants to Canada drive economic development and innovation through their participation in entrepreneurship. In Canada, immigrants represent a significant percentage of the country's entrepreneurs, and their companies are more likely to serve export markets than companies owned or managed by non-immigrants. While governments have established programs to support highly skilled immigrants and entrepreneurs in order to drive economic development, immigrants still face many barriers to establishing and growing their own businesses. This study explores the perspective of immigrant entrepreneurs in Ontario and the supports available to them. It aims to understand the factors that shape an immigrant entrepreneur's decision in terms of where to locate their business. We focused on immigrant entrepreneurs in Mississauga, Niagara and Picton. Our study surveyed entrepreneurs with a focus on those born outside of Canada. In addition, we mapped existing services at the federal, provincial, and local level and interviewed relevant service providers working with immigrant entrepreneurs in order to understand gaps in available services.

This study provided a systematic review of the academic and “grey” literature on “soft” skills in Canada. A key word search was used to pull a broad range of articles and papers which were coded and analysed to explore the ways in which “soft” skills are defined, developed and measured. Key findings include: 1. There is wide agreement that “soft” skills (often termed “professional” or “generic” skills) are among the skills essential to employment across sectors. 2. While there is little agreement, however on how specifically these skills are defined. 3. While much attention is focused on providing Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) graduates with training in soft skills, less attention is focused on Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) graduates because of an assumption, perhaps mistaken, that these graduates will possess soft skills. 4. Employers report a “skills gap” and generally do not feel graduates possess sufficient “soft” skills to perform effectively. 5. There are significant differences in the expectations and perceptions of employers and the perceptions of educators and graduates regarding the level of soft skills graduates possess. 6. While there are some standardized tests for some soft skills – writing and critical reasoning for example, many soft skills can only be assessed in context and just as there is little agreement on definition, there is little agreement on assessment of these skills. 7. There are many stakeholders involved in the development and assessment of soft skills and most agree a combination of formal and informal or experiential learning are required. 8. Because of the way in which soft skills are learned, many segments of the population are disadvantaged in access to the coaching, training and role models needed to develop these skills and cultural biases may play a role in the definition and assessment of soft skills. Moreover the boundaries between “skills” and “personality traits or habits” are blurred particularly with respect to interpersonal skills. A diversity lens is critical. 9. The lack of consistency in definitions and fragmentation of stakeholders involved in soft skills development compounds the problem and more coordination is needed to develop shared expectations and to bridge the gap between supply and demand. 10. More research is needed to systematically assess empirically the ways in which soft skills can be defined, developed and evaluated

This report provides a five year perspective on the progress of women and visible minorities in senior leadership roles in the Greater Montreal area. Specifically, it: Measures the representation of women and visible minorities in senior leadership positions (including boards of directors and senior management) in six sectors: elected officials, public, corporate, voluntary, education, and appointments to government agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs) ; Examines similarities and differences between sectors, as well as variances within sectors; and Suggests best practices to advance women and visible minorities to senior leadership positions.

Rapid technological change, globalization, the demand for skills and education, an aging workforce and greater diversity in the labour market have forever changed the employment landscape. Demographic shifts, the growing participation rates of women and the increased reliance on immigration, in particular, have shaped the Canadian workforce. The talent war has become the single most important competitive issue in virtually every sector and has been a particular issue for employers needing skilled Information and Communication Technology (ICT) workers. Without a talented workforce, Canadian businesses cannot effectively compete. The Royal Bank of Canada has noted that From an economic point of view, how well Canada continues to meet the challenges of diversity will determine our future success in attracting talented immigrants as global competition for talent intensifies with the aging of Western societies...in the face of potential labour shortages, employers will miss out on opportunities for growth unless they recognize the potential of all groups in Canadian society (RBC, 2005). Leading companies are leveraging diversity to achieve their corporate goals. There is growing evidence that providing equitable opportunities for under-represented groups such as women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and the disabled produces tangible benefits to corporations, although it does require a long-term, integrated and strategic approach. Large public companies, governments and banks have tended to lead the way in implementing strategies to leverage diversity. Benefits that they have identified as a result include recruitment and retention of highly qualified workers, better alignment with diverse global markets, increased creativity and productivity, and higher overall corporate performance. In spite of the long-term advantages, many employers are not taking full advantage of Canadas diverse workforce. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which often have more limited resources, less flexibility and shorter planning horizons tend not to pay as much attention to human resources planning and management, at their peril. Canadian women have made great strides in the workplace, but still face a glass ceiling and are under-represented in management positions and some professions. Indeed, while female participation in law, medicine, business and even engineering has increased dramatically, female participation in computer science has actually declined. Canadas track record on successfully integrating internationally educated professionals (IEPs) into the workforce is also slipping. March 2007 Diversity The Competitive Edge: Implications for the ICT Labour Market A report submitted to the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) Although IEPs are better educated in general, they have higher rates of unemployment and lower rates of career success compared to other Canadians. Although it is not widespread at this time, there is evidence that many well- qualified IEPs who believe that their opportunities here are limited are leaving Canada and, in some cases, returning to their place of origin as those economies grow (Rao, 2001). The Royal Bank of Canada has estimated that there is a significant economic cost associated with failing to ensure internationally-born workers and women achieve their full potential.

The question of whether Canada's economy suffers from labour shortages has been viewed quite differently by employers and economists. The business community almost universally identifies shortages as a problem, especially for skilled workers. That shortages so far have been less severe or widespread than just before the 2008 recession does not mean they are non-existent. Economists are more skeptical, recalling past warnings of shortages that did not materialize while noting that business forecasts of shortages could be motivated by the self-interest of lobbying for measures that boost labour supply and put a lid on wage costs. Moreover, the available data on vacancies and wages seem benign, at least at the national level. This paper attempts to reconcile these two seemingly opposite views. First, it concludes that employers, drawing on their experience with shortages before the recession, have been more innovative in adopting strategies to increase labour supply. These include encouraging employees to delay retirement and work longer hours (nearly one-third of Albertans work over 50 hours a week). However, working incumbent employees more intensively is not sustainable in the long term, especially for older workers. Much concern about shortages is based on the looming retirement of the boomer generation, especially since new sources of labour supply take time to adapt. However, economists note that the track record of predicting shortages based on the need to replace retirees is poor: Europe today is an excellent example of an older society without a shortage of labour. The next point is the existence of a record gap between unemployment for adults and youths. This distorts measures of available labour supply that economists study if employers do not regard youths as substitutes for older workers. The reasons for the high level of youth unemployment at a time of shortages in some sectors partly reflects the skills youths have acquired, especially their marked shift from community colleges to university education over the past decade. Youth unemployment also is high because their participation rate has stayed high, especially among teenagers and full-time students who employers are reluctant to hire. Meanwhile, training conducted by firms has lagged, leaving the public sector increasingly responsible for human capital formation. Not surprisingly, labour market outcomes have deteriorated too. Finally, national wages have not accelerated markedly due to lingering slow growth in central Canada. This has masked a clear upturn in wages in most Western provinces and in Newfoundland. Firms have also resorted to a wide range of non-wage benefits to induce people to join them, partly to avoid having to pay more for their incumbent employees.

From the insights gathered over the past year, we have produced this report, Partnering for a Better Future for Ontario, which examines Ontarians' feedback, using it to shape universities' own commitments to help forge a prosperous and hopeful province, as well as our recommendations to governments and policy makers.We believe that Ontario's brand as an open and cosmopolitan society, with a high quality of life, a large talent pool and an innovative tech and business environment, gives us a global edge at a time when some of Canada's major competitors are becoming more insular. This is Ontario's moment to shine, and our 21 universities will work with our partners across all sectors to drive economic prosperity and improve quality of life in three key ways: 1. Helping students thrive. We are committed to nurturing successful citizens and strengthening Ontario's talent pipeline by preparing every student with the skills they need for the workforce now and in the future, expanding experiential learning in their programs, providing career, social and mental-health support, and ensuring that every young Ontarian who is qualified for a place in university has access. 2. Supporting our communities. We are committed to helping enhance the quality of life for Ontarians through our research and local partnerships in areas such as health care, the aging population, municipal services, infrastructure, transit and arts and culture. 3. Driving a growing, dynamic province. We are committed to helping our economy grow by educating the talented graduates that employers need to be competitive here and abroad; supporting entrepreneurism and innovation; attracting the best talent to Ontario from around the world; and contributing to the clean technologies and low-carbon practices to help promote sustainable growth.