The document discusses talent and attracting the best and brightest to the Toronto region. It summarizes views from various industry experts. It finds that while Toronto has many assets that appeal to talent, there are also gaps, such as in promoting STEM education and attracting skilled trades. To address these gaps, the Toronto Board of Trade is undertaking a study to quantify supply and demand for transportation sector talent to help ensure major infrastructure projects can be delivered. Immigration is also seen as important to attracting global talent, though high personal tax rates can deter some executives.

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The Toronto Region Board of Trade has a vision to help build the
Toronto region into one of the most attractive places in the world
to do business. To do this, the Board regularly puts key elements
of international competitiveness under rigorous public scrutiny.
Talent is one such element.
Do we have what it takes to compete?
Talent
“At the Board, we are focused on the three Ts that
represent key prosperity factors for the Toronto
region – trade, transportation and talent,” says
Board of Trade President and CEO Jan De Silva.
“Our ability to attract and retain the best and
brightest from around the world is critically
important to our future success.”
To understand the impact of talent on our global appeal, we
need to know what role our human capital plays in building
Toronto as a world-class city region. We need to know how
the Toronto region is performing in attracting and retaining
the best and the brightest. And we need to know what factors
to promote and what factors to mitigate in these efforts.
Odgers Berndtson is one of Canada’s largest executive
search firms, connecting talent with jobs and jobs with
talent. A global alliance, Odgers has talent advisory
practices around the world. Jason Peetsma is Managing
Director of Odgers’ executive interim management
practice in Canada. With a bench of 6,000 interim
executives in every function and industry, Peetsma is
well-positioned to see trends and gaps in the region.
Peetsma says that, on the surface, the Toronto region has
all the right assets to appeal to international executives
and to keep homegrown talent in the region. However,
he warns that we need to look deeper. Digging into
proprietary data from the past five years, Peetsma sees
trends and gaps for talent recruitment in the changing
landscape of work, much of it caused by disruption and
demographics. “We’ve found that we’re filling the most
positions in the Toronto region in professional services,
the scientific field, technology, digital media, and financial
services, including insurance and real estate. That’s where
we’ve seen the growth,” says Peetsma.
Much of that observation seems to fit Toronto’s historic
image as the epicentre of corporate Canada. Nearly
50 per cent of the country’s top 500 enterprises have head
offices in Toronto, while Bay Street’s financial district is
the second largest North American financial hub after
New York City. But the region’s revived science and tech
sectors are increasingly reflective of several talent trends.
Since the global tech bubble burst in 2000, the
Information, Communication and Technology (ICT)
sector has been rebuilding in Canada. Its growth has
been propelled by a thriving combination of human
capital, well-funded university programs, public-private
partnerships and international investment. Added to this
is a supportive immigration stance and compelling quality
of life that amplifies the continuing movement of talent.
The “old” tech sector, once exemplified by powerhouse
employers like Nortel and BlackBerry, has given rise to
incubators, accelerators, venture capitalists and emergent
start-ups. Today, more of these are locating in the Toronto
region. A recent Accenture Insight report notes that the
demise and diminishment of the old large tech companies
led to a redistribution of their talent, “as many former
leaders and employees join rising tech companies or
establish startups capitalizing on the knowledge and
experience of the available talent pool.”
That talent has been productive. Accenture reports that
the tech sector is now outperforming the rest of Canada’s
economy. They cite the Toronto Stock Exchange’s
technology and innovation sectors, which have grown
faster than any other on the exchange since 2013. The
TSX and TSXV list over 420 companies in the technology
and innovation sectors, including technology, clean
tech and life sciences companies. Further, they report
that 75 new technology and innovation companies have
gone public since the beginning of 2014. That number
includes 19 new international technology and innovation
companies, more than in any other sector.
Talent without borders
The international component is significant. Much of
the ICT sector is mobile, using its own technology and
communications innovations to enable the cross-border
movement of their goods, services, investments and
people. New or established, where these businesses choose
to invest can have a strong impact on a region and its
workforce. In the Toronto region, China-based Huawei
Technologies and California-based Cisco, present two
examples of the benefits of this approach.
Huawei is one of the world’s largest telecommunications
companies, operating in 170 countries around the world.
The Chinese multinational has announced a series of
significant investments, funding research, educational
programs and job creation opportunities since coming
to Canada in 2008. In 2014, Huawei committed to invest
another $210 million in Ontario, bringing the total to
more than $500 million in Canada over the next five years.
Scott Bradley, Vice President, Corporate and Government
Affairs for Huawei in Canada notes it will be a doubling of
Huawei’s R&D capabilities in this country.
Bradley says it’s a huge vote of confidence in local talent
and capabilities and part of a purposeful strategy to build
a strong Canadian operation. “What we’ve found in the
province of Ontario is there’s a very, very strong ICT
ecosystem. Whether opening our facility in Ottawa or
expanding research operations in Markham or Waterloo,
or working very closely with Ontario universities, all
of that has helped to reinforce the strength of the talent
that exists, not only in telecommunications but in
advanced communications.”
Huawei’s research investments are primarily focused
on advanced initiatives for 5G communications networks
and related technologies, including photonics, data
security and integrity, and the Internet of Things. “When
you have success in a region or location, what that does
is send a strong message back to headquarters [in China]
about the strength of the team, the strength of the talent
and the strength of the ecosystem. Success breeds
success,” Bradley says.
Huawei stands out as a Chinese success story in the
Toronto region, yet Bradley cautions there’s still much
work to do in terms of building Huawei’s brand and
reputation. He wants Huawei’s Canadian operations to
serve as a model to attract further global technology
investment to the region. It’s a long term play.
David Heather is Vice President, Human Resources
at Cisco Canada. He recounts how, 30 years ago in
California’s Bay Area, Cisco was launched in answer to
a question: How can we connect computers and deliver a
high-productivity outcome with a lot more innovation and
collaboration? Fast-forward to today, says Heather, and
the technology has changed, the portfolio has broadened,
but the mission remains the same: to innovate, bring
people together and drive productivity.
Cisco first opened a small sales office in Canada in 1992
and has grown exponentially since then. Today, Cisco
has 1,800 employees in Canada, about 800 of whom are
in research and development (R&D) — primarily at their
facility in Kanata. Six hundreds are in front lines sales,
and a few hundred more are in professional services
consultancy and support. Heather says Cisco has made
considerable material investment in the Canadian
economy, notably through R&D operations. He says it’s
good value to the company: “We know there’s a very rich
and deep talent pool in Ontario and in Toronto.”
“We recognize that we’re an American company operating
in Canada, but we want to be part of the fabric, to benefit
the country and communities we operate in,” says Heather.
The most recent benefit comes to the region in the form
of a $100 million investment in new headquarters and an
Innovation Centre in downtown Toronto. Heather sees it as
absolutely an investment in and recognition of Toronto talent.
By Elizabeth Hamilton

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COVER COVER
Heather points out that the new Cisco headquarters will
house five generations of employees within the office,
embracing the whole range of skills, age, gender and
diversity of thought available in Toronto.
Like Huawei’s focus on investments that stimulate talent,
research and innovation, Cisco has created a new multi-
use Innovation Centre within the new office complex.
“We wanted our employees, our customers and our
stakeholders to benefit from a facility that gives us an
opportunity to showcase our technology to our existing
and future customers.”
Cisco is also opening its Innovation Centre to entrepreneurs
of all sizes and has built some limited partnerships with
customers and universities to make use of the innovation
lab. Heather acknowledges it’s a calculated business
investment. “It absolutely benefits Cisco, that’s one of the
reasons we did it, but it has a wider impact on Toronto, the
region, Ontario and Canada. It gives an opportunity for all
parts of businesses to work on best-in-class technology, to
see how it works in the real world…to realize innovation
and drive value,” something Heather fervently believes is
essential to successful economies now and in the future.
One of the reasons Huawei and Cisco invest in
partnerships and university programs is to break down
barriers in the ICT ecosystem. One of the gaps still needing
to be bridged is in promoting STEM-related education
in high schools and across university courses, notably to
school-age girls. It’s an issue Cisco’s David Heather says
he would personally like to see addressed. “For the future
talent pool, technology is only going to play a bigger role
in all facets of life, and STEM-related subjects are so
important. I would love to see all people with equal access
to pursue those subjects, and that’s an opportunity for all
cities, including Toronto.”
Building for the future
Breaking through education barriers is also critical for the
skilled trades that execute the infrastructure required for
building world-leading innovation sectors in a world-class
metropolis, particularly transit. But challenges loom in
this space, as well. “With historic levels of funding now
available to tackle our region’s critical transit deficit, our
biggest barrier is now talent,” says Ms. De Silva. “Our
members tell us we have insufficient numbers of trades,
as well as engineers and financial professionals to
deliver our projects.”
Joseph Mancinelli is the International Vice President
of LiUNA, the Labourers’ International Union of
North America, the largest construction association in the
country. He says LiUNA has been laser-focused on the issue
of talent for over a decade, and with good reason. Ten years
ago, a federal government study suggested Ontario would
lose a large number of their most productive workers within
the next decade due to retirement and other attrition. The
study prompted LiUNA — with 60,000 members at the
time — to plan for enhanced training and expansion of
its member base. The plan has paid off, with LiUNA now
representing 90,000 workers in Ontario.
Mancinelli credits their focus on specific education and
training, citing the 14 training centres they operate, six
of which are within the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area
(GTHA). They are structured to be trusteed between
management and labour to understand first-hand where
the work demands are. “If they need form setters, asphalt
workers, bridge builders, that’s what we train in,” says
Mancinelli. He highlights that this training for current
requirements — education for where and when the job
needs are projected to be — is the difference between
skilled trades education and post-secondary education
for general knowledge. “If I could make a comparison…
with the post-secondary institutions, whether it is the
universities or the colleges, they have curriculum for
everything, so you have people taking all sorts of courses
but not necessarily the courses [for jobs] that are in
demand,” says Mancinelli.
Success has come in increased membership numbers,
but challenges in replenishing and attracting workforce
talent run deeper. Mancinelli says the biggest obstacle in
drawing high school students into the trades is two-fold:
parents and high school guidance counselors. He wants
parents to know there’s nothing wrong, and a lot right,
with their kids going into the construction industry where
the pay is good, lots of work is available and a career path
could enable business entrepreneurship. He adds that high
schools, too, “should understand that there’s a career path
[for students], and that they can make good money, and
they should also appreciate that not everybody is going to
be a doctor or a lawyer.” Mancinelli notes European cities
do a better job of promoting trades to high school students,
some even having curricula that allow students to start
training in trades prior to graduating.
The Board of Trade is doing its part by pulling out the
data that can help inform government and private sector
planning around talent development. “We are working
on a transit talent study to quantify the gap by role,”
Ms. De Silva explains. “This data will enable us to take
action to provide access to programs that have a job
waiting at the end. In the short term, this study could also
aid us in targeting immigration to attract the qualified
skills we need to get our transit built.”
Immigration is a critical opportunity for Mancinelli,
who says we need to start looking at more ways to bring
in people and train them in specific areas. “There are
people from a number of countries coming into Canada
who, from a social and cultural point of view, do not
go into the trades…they frown on construction work,”
says Mancinelli. He believes Canada needs to appeal
to international communities who do embrace trades:
Europeans and South and Central Americans who see
construction and trades employment as opportunities to
earn a good wage in a country with a top quality of life.
We need to know how the Toronto region
is performing in attracting and retaining
the best and the brightest. And we need
to know what factors to promote and what
factors to mitigate in these efforts.
THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST
Filling the gaps: Board to study
transportation talent supply and demand
The Toronto region is on the cusp of
transformational change, as shovels
hit the ground on a new wave of
transportation projects. The billions
invested by governments will not
only enhance regional productivity
and global competitiveness, it
will also create jobs for an entire
generation. Now is the time to
ensure the region has the talent
needed to deliver current and future
transportation projects.
To benchmark these needs, the
Board is undertaking a talent study,
mapping the number of positions
and specific skill sets required to
build and maintain the next wave of
The Big Move, Metrolinx’s regional
transportation plan. The Board
is working closely with Ontario’s
Ministry of Training Colleges and
Universities, Metrolinx, Ryerson
University’s Magnet Program and
MDB Insight to structure the study.
Once completed, the study will be
used to identify gaps and evaluate
policy options for resolving them.
Through this landmark study, the
Board of Trade can help ensure that
future transportation infrastructure
is delivered expediently to the
communities and businesses that
so desperately need it.

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COVER COVER
Like Mancinelli, David Heather of Cisco agrees that
immigration is important to attracting global talent.
“Toronto is a tremendously vibrant city. The level of diversity
is a huge, huge positive and I think that has to be at the heart
of any country’s view on talent. A country with a progressive
immigration stance is to be encouraged,” says Heather.
Mancinelli acknowledges that LiUNA represents only one
part of the construction sector. He is concerned about the
talent shortages and onerous requirements for certification
that other trades face here. “We started ahead of the curve
to correct this issue of skills shortages, but many of the
other trades have not,” he says. “The government has to
push the agenda and take the lead on this to make sure
other trades are doing what we’re doing.”
Attracting and retaining talent is of course critical for
success across all business sectors. When Odgers’ Jason
Peetsma looks at the data for the Toronto region, he sees a
“huge gap” in competition for talent. “If companies don’t
see that the employment brand is one of the strongest
assets they have, then they fail to be relevant,” says
Peetsma. Thus, Peetsma is seeing a trend where companies
of all industries are taking steps to audit, improve and
manage their external and internal reputation in order to
attract and retain top talent.
Peetsma also notes an interesting trend of “expats” looking
to return to Canada to work. “It used to be if you were
healthy, ambitious, smart, with few dependents, you’d go
somewhere else to make your money; once you’d built your
cash or you wanted to build a family, you’d come back to
Canada.” Peetsma says the dollar change has caused some
to seriously think about returning.
But he cautions that tax rates also affect talent acquisition.
While the KPMG 2016 Competitive Alternatives report on
business costs ranked Canada in the top three worldwide
for most competitive corporate tax rates, Canada’s,
Ontario’s and Toronto’s high personal tax rates can send
shivers of caution down an executive’s spine. Peetsma
says, “the number one thing that turns executives off is the
tax structure.” He offers the example of an executive who
was paying 22 per cent income tax in New Jersey, but now
pays 54 per cent in Toronto. It can kill a deal.
Peetsma says he often speaks to executive candidates
who prefer not to become an employee in Canada, but will
accept a role on an interim basis, something he says is now
also a trend. He notes more executives have been building
careers and creating a “portfolio lifestyle,” one that offers
them flexibility to make their home base elsewhere. These
leaders are increasingly doing interim executive stints in
Toronto without moving to the city core.
Peetsma notes the next most common complaint is about
transportation challenges, which commonly steal up to
ten extra hours a week from an executive’s family life.
Top candidates have a world of choices, so transportation
is a critical quality of life factor. Overall, the discussion
reinforces Peetsma’s core findings: “the primary reasons
why anyone will pick opportunities relates to three things:
finance; family; and freedom; if you create a city that
is geared towards only one of those, you may lose out
on the other two.” Peetsma acknowledges it’s a hard
combination, but says that if the Toronto region wants
to appeal to talent as world-class, it needs to deliver
all three factors with excellence.
Representatives of international and local business
sectors emphasize that the Toronto community does
a good job of accentuating the positives of the region, but
there is still more to do to meet competitive challenges of
a world-class metro. Talent plays a pivotal role. Perhaps
Peetsma’s observations also apply well to the Toronto
region. “If you don’t attract the talent you need, you
don’t have the resources you need. If you don’t have the
resources you need, you can’t be competitive anymore.”
The same can be said of growing a competitive Toronto.
If the region has all the right resources on the surface, it
can be competitive and reach world-class status. But it
must dig deeper to be watchful of the trends, fill the gaps,
and keep cultivating its growth to stay there.
Representatives of international and local business sectors
emphasize that the Toronto community does a good job of
accentuating the positives of the region, but there is still more
to do to meet competitive challenges of a world-class metro.
OPPORTUNITY This is a watershed moment, when transit is at the forefront
of almost every discussion relating to sustaining our
economy, commerce and communities. Investment in transit,
at all levels of government, is arguably unprecedented and
is a key factor in the quality of life for many.
Are we prepared to deliver on transit infrastructure plans
and aspirations?
Unfortunately, expertise is depleting and interest is
weakening in the transportation industry workforce. Now
is the time to foster environments for knowledge transfer
from those who have spent their entire career in the industry
and solicit a new generation to join the cause
in delivering on transit needs.
That means new ideas, new technologies and new solutions
are needed to solve the issues of gridlock, affordability and
connectivity — now and for generations to come. Millenials
want a career that makes a difference; they want to help
people. Planning, designing and building transit offers
tremendous opportunities to fulfill that goal. It serves a
greater good and leaves lasting assets to be proud of.
As we grapple with a skills shortage and a people shortage,
it is imperative that we seek, nurture and grow talent to fill
this gap. Women are an important component of this talent
pool, not only to unlock perceived barriers of the past but
also to ignite the industry with diversity in thought and ideas.
Today, less than 12 per cent of professional engineers in
Canada are women. Gender-based stereotypes and the lack
of role models and mentors remain very real challenges. Too
few girls see themselves in a career in science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM). Even fewer see their future
in transportation or even know the variety of career
opportunities the industry presents. Yes, we need urban
planning; civil, structural and railway engineering; and
construction. But we also need professionals in marketing,
government affairs, finance, business, software, analytics and
traffic engineering, just to name a few.
What if we brought new people to the sector who
traditionally would not think of a career in transportation?
What if we sought the untapped resource in women?
How do we inspire them?
WTS is an international organization dedicated to building
the future of transportation through the global advancement
of women. WTS Toronto Area Chapter aims to build the local
transportation talent pool as a pillar in our mission and vison.
Our commitment is demonstrated in the variety of speaker
events, technical tours, and programs we offer:
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Chapter awards scholarships to individuals pursuing
careers in transportation through undergraduate and
graduate programs. Scholarships are based on the
applicant’s specific career goals, academic record and
transportation-related activities or job skills.
MENTORSHIP
This program provides a forum for young women seeking
to develop skills to achieve both professional and personal
success. The program offers support from experienced
mentors, peer networking and candid conversations with
successful transportation leaders within the Greater
Toronto-Hamilton region.
TRANSPORTATION YOU
The exciting program reaches out to high school girls,
age 13-18, to open their eyes to the many possibilities of a
career in transportation. The program offers activities to
spark girls’ interest in all modes of transportation and to
encourage them to take STEM courses — important stepping
stones to rewarding careers that can change the face of
transportation in Ontario. The Chapter is excited to introduce
the first ever Transportation YOU Program in Canada!
The transportation industry is a part of everyone’s life. We
have a unique opportunity to shape our industry. We can tap
into new resources by building inclusive work environments
and giving the next generation — young women and men —
something to believe in.
Karla Avis-Birch is a professional engineer with Metrolinx’s
Capital Projects Group and Vice-President, WTS Toronto
Area Chapter. Learn more about WTS and how you can get
involved in inspiring young women in the transportation
industry at www.wtsinternational.org/Toronto.
By Karla Avis-Birch, P.Eng.
TRANSPORTATION
TALENT POOL
WTS HELPS BUILD THE
ONBOARD Summer 2016 15