Edmontonians want to attract and keep young talent, and tech innovation may be doing just that
‘There's just a quality to Edmonton that allows out-of-the-box thinking to take root'
CBC Edmonton is exploring the issues that matter most to Edmontonians in the months leading up to October's municipal election. Read other stories published so far in this series:
- About the series: What are we looking for in the next mayor and council?
- Homelessness: 'They need to look at us, not just see us'
- Transportation: Where roads, bike lanes and public transit meet
- Leadership: Who will fill the shoes of outgoing Mayor Don Iveson?
- In search of a city council that's willing to disrupt systemic discrimination in Edmonton
- Edmonton declared a climate emergency in 2019. So what's been done about it?
Mor ẹ́nikẹ́ Ọláòṣebìkan is on a mission to address global medication shortages.
Ọláòṣebìkan, who is the CEO of Kemet Advanced Manufacturing Ltd., the tech startup she founded to do just that, could have started her tech business anywhere — Silicon Valley or Boston, for example — but she chose Edmonton.
"There's just a quality to Edmonton that allows out-of-the-box thinking to take root and then to have people resource and come around you and support you that way," Ọláòṣebìkan said.
She's not alone.
Despite an economy hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, tech startups like Kemet, which launched full operations this month, are continuing to choose Edmonton to establish and scale up their businesses. It bodes well for attracting much-needed young talent to the city — and getting the talent already here to stay.
"Like everywhere, we're trying to attract and grow our tech sector because it provides good jobs, a lot of economic activity, and it really has a positive future for more growth," said Rob Roach, deputy chief economist with ATB Financial.
In a recent municipal poll commissioned by CBC Edmonton, city residents put the importance of attracting and retaining talented young people to live and work in Edmonton an average rating of 7.9 out of 10.
Ọláòṣebìkan's tech company aims to tackle high rates of fake medications, long wait times for medications and heavy reliance on imported medications in African countries.
Kemet is building prefabricated clean-room facilities modelled on its new lab at the Edmonton Research Park. The facilities are designed to manufacture essential medications used to manage conditions like HIV, malaria, high blood pressure, mental health and cardiovascular issues.
The facilities will be shipped to countries all over Africa, while staying digitally connected with the Canadian lab.
The company currently has five full-time employees. Ọláòṣebìkan plans to hire two more full-time staff and 11 contractors by the end of the year, and up to 50 people from the engineering sectors over the next five years.
Diverse talent
In an industry that has struggled to achieve racial and gender diversity, Ọláòṣebìkan is using her position as a tech startup founder to create more jobs for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
A strong innovation ecosystem is essential for Edmonton to retain and attract young, educated and diverse talent, said Catherine Warren, CEO of Innovate Edmonton.
"It's very much top of mind for business owners and even for parents who are looking to ensure that there is aspiration and hope and opportunity right here in our own city," Warren said.
'Explosion of growth' expected
Innovate Edmonton anticipates continued growth in tech and innovation in the region.
"We're putting the building blocks in place and I believe we're about to witness an explosion of growth here in our city," Warren said.
Edmonton and Alberta's economies were already being challenged before COVID-19 by changing global energy market factors, a city report found.
Edmonton shed about 62,000 jobs in 2020, as unemployment spiked at 15.8 per cent in June, the highest among Canadian cities. Edmonton's annual average unemployment was also higher than other Canadian cities at 12 per cent, said Felicia Mutheardy, the city's acting chief corporate economist.
At the same time, the number of tech companies that call Alberta home continues to grow, and has more than doubled in the past three years, according to a recent study from Alberta Enterprise.
The provincial Crown corporation identified 3,083 privately-held tech companies headquartered in Alberta this year — an increase of 149 per cent over the 1,238 companies identified in 2018.
Of the companies listed, 918 were based in Edmonton and 1,776 in Calgary.
Roach noted that in addition to attracting young workers, the innovation tech sector is also attracting bright, mature workers from Alberta's oil and gas industry, which is rebounding, but not yet fully recovered.
Warren agreed.
"There's a ton of activity happening in the innovation ecosystem," she said.
"And this is where young people and people who are going through career transitions want to invest their time. They are looking for career opportunities that have an impact on careers with purpose and meaning. And these are the very things that we're shaping and coalescing right here in Edmonton."
According to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada, unemployment in Edmonton and area stood at 10.2 per cent in May. It is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels of 7.5 per cent by 2024, Mutheardy said.
CBC News' random survey of 900 City of Edmonton residents was conducted between March 29 and April 14, 2021 by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The margin of error is +/-3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For subsets, the margin of error is larger. The survey used a hybrid methodology that involved contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the option of completing the survey at that time, at another more convenient time, or receiving an email link and completing the survey online.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here
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