Amont large tech markets of over 50,000 employed in the sector, Calgary also posted a blistering 61.1 per cent in tech jobs from 2021 to 2024, at 64,600 employed. That growth figure was the highest in all of the North American cities looked at by CBRE.<\/p>\n
Brad Parry, CEO of Calgary Economic Development, said that the latest statistics reinforce the hard work that has been undertaken by the tech community over the past several years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that we\u2019re 17th now among the top 50 is huge. I mean, when you see job growth happen at 61 per cent from \u201921 to \u201924, I mean that\u2019s huge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said that growth in other parts of the sector, like 25 per cent of the employment rate being women and 16 per cent being from under-represented communities, was also an improvement towards a more diverse tech economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just saying that we\u2019ve got the opportunities for people to really build some really cool stuff here and do some amazing work,\u201d said Parry.<\/p>\n
The CBRE report found that Canadian tech firms were largely more diverse than their American counterparts.<\/p>\n
The CBRE report also found that 49.1 per cent of tech talent was actually employed in the tech industry, placing Calgary fifth on the rankings behind Austin, Vancouver, Seattle, and San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Parry said those figures were representative of the industry growing in Calgary, where firms are looking to set up shop in the city either by moving their headquarters or setting up branch offices to take advantage of the tech talent pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cthe first question we always get is not about the business environment or about of the taxes, it\u2019s about the talent: \u2018if I come, will you have the talent?; Matter of fact, I was speaking to a company out of Victoria who\u2019s now thinking about relocating their office\u2026 and that\u2019s the question they had. Like, \u2018I\u2019m seeing some really good talent, and this is why Calgary is on my map,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Parry said another example was from a firm in Denver that was looking to near-shore by opening an office in Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis sends that message out there that there are things happening and companies will start to come back with talent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Opportunity for workers, especially young Calgarians<\/p>\n
Parry said that because of the growth of the tech ecosystem in Calgary, the nature of who has been moving to the city has been shifting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree or four years ago, people were coming here with a job already in hand. I think what you\u2019ve seen is the attractiveness, the livability, the quality of life, the growth of the sector\u2013people are now coming here and looking for that job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think you\u2019re seeing a little imbalance right now because of that. People are coming to the marketplace and maybe haven\u2019t secured a position yet, and so that\u2019s where I see maybe a little bit of those numbers growing. But what I\u2019ve seen and what I\u2019m hearing in the community, there\u2019s a lot of companies right now that are picking up some amazing talent, and I think hopefully we\u2019ll see that number rebound in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n
That employment strategy, said Parry, was also working towards solving part of the growing crisis in youth unemployment that has seen double-digit unemployment rates for young people and recent graduates in Alberta.<\/p>\n
CBRE wrote in its report that four cities were creating more tech jobs than graduates in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cDallas-Ft. Worth, Calgary, Toronto and the San Francisco Bay Area created substantially more tech jobs than college tech-degree graduates last year, while Washington, D.C., Boston and Los Angeles-Orange County produced more tech-degree graduates than tech jobs,\u201d read the report.<\/p>\n
Parry said that CED was working to connect talent with employers through the Agile Program and the TalentED YYC Programs to connect interns and new graduates with employers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHelping our [small and medium business] understand the value of that, I think is key to get those kids that hands-on learning, so they understand what kind of career do I want to really get into, and what\u2019s that opportunity from them in the long term,\u201d Parry said.<\/p>\n
Connecting companies with tech talent alongside other needs was what CED would continue to do to grow the tech sector, said Parry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really want to make sure that our local companies are getting a chance to build, grow and scale, and find markets for their products and services.\u201d<\/p>\n
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