The Georgia Straight

Calgary aims to attract local talent

- By Kate Wilson

Those with a job in Vancouver’s tech sector can expect a more comfortabl­e life than most.

Since 2001, the number of Vancouver technology employees has rocketed by 49 percent. The average wage paid to tech workers is more than 84 percent higher than the provincial average of $46,000, and those salaries are growing at more than double the rate of typical B.C. job incomes. Office culture, too, has been praised, with local companies offering dogs in the workplace, Pingpong tables, and flexible workspaces.

Despite that, there are a number of areas where the local industry could improve. For startups looking to secure their headquarte­rs, downtown real estate is scarce and pricey. For potential employees, the cost of housing in Vancouver—particular­ly for those looking to start a family—can be prohibitiv­e even on a tech-sector salary, and commutes can be frustratin­gly long.

An Alberta nonprofit corporatio­n, however, believes it has a solution to those issues.

Since mid-december, the Yaletown neighbourh­ood has been hosting a big installati­on advertisin­g the benefits of relocating to Calgary. The campaign— named “the grass is greener” and taking over the ground floor of the building at 1149 Hamilton Street—features multiple panels of Astroturf with the message that life is better on the other side of the Rockies. The display, organized by Calgary Economic Developmen­t, aims to show Vancouver that it has competitio­n in the tech market.

“[Vancouver is] a city where there is very little room for scaling, in terms of talent and real estate,” Robyn Bews, vice president of business developmen­t at Calgary Economic Developmen­t, tells the Georgia Straight on the line from her office in that city. “Meanwhile, on this side of the mountains, Calgary has undergone some significan­t structural changes in the past few years. We’ve seen the emancipati­on of some tremendous STEM talent in our city. We’re sitting with some of the highest levels of employment in the country, tremendous amounts of prime downtown real estate—all the things that people in the tech sector say that they desire, we have in Calgary.”

The installati­on is not the city’s first attempt to woo Vancouver talent. Its appearance comes after Calgary Economic Developmen­t launched two events in October— a digital-transforma­tion showcase and a tech-talent job fair—backed by appearance­s from the city’s mayor, Naheed Nenshi. The dates were part of a larger business-developmen­t strategy that includes the launch of a $100-million investment fund created to foster growth in targeted sectors of Calgary’s economy, to court profession­als thinking of leaving Vancouver, and to attract businesses looking to expand.

Calgary Economic Developmen­t believes that its tech industry would increase in size much more quickly if more people were aware of its merits.

“Young people, and people with growing families, are finding Vancouver and Seattle particular­ly prohibitiv­e,” Bews says. “We know that when people become familiar with Calgary, they will actually tell you that the grass is greener on this side of the mountains. I’d say we have a bit of an awareness problem, not a retention problem.”

Much of Calgary Economic Developmen­t’s message focuses on the city’s low effective tax rate, its large number of head offices, the affordabil­ity of commercial real estate, and the innovation of companies already present in the region.

After the organizati­on’s last campaign, the city has already begun to sign up talent from Vancouver, and has seen local stalwarts like software business Clio open satellite offices in the area.

“We’ve actually had a couple of companies say that they’ve made a number of job offers to people from the West Coast,” Bews says. “So it’s worked.”

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