As startup ecosystems across Canada mature, we’re reaching a point where continuing that momentum includes continuing to support companies in these ecosystems, and fostering globally competitive talent.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) released a report ahead of the Canadian Internet Forum to identify pitfalls with access to internet across the country, and how this affects IT firms when it comes to accessing talent.
The report surveyed 1,200 Canadian Internet users and 300 leaders in Canadian IT firms. More than half of the IT firms surveyed (55 percent) said that companies rely on “the ability to recruit and retain skilled workers to be competitive internationally”. At the same time, they’re concerned about the challenge of finding this talent in Canada — 40 percent of IT leaders had trouble recruiting IT professionals with the right skills and 46 per cent had difficulty filling a position in the last 12 months.
Forty-nine percent of the companies surveyed agreed that Canadian technology companies aren’t equipped to compete globally, while 75 per cent cited the importance of “made-in-Canada” solutions for the nation’s major technology challenges.
Broadband accessibility across Canada was identified as a challenge to fostering a strong technical population — an analysis of 126,000 tests done by Canadian internet users between May and December 2015 found that urban centres tested at an average download speed of 19.8 Mbps, compared with the rural average of 14.81. Universal access to broadband was considered key to allowing Canada to compete in the global economy.
Access the full report here.