Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 3127 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DE LA TECHNOLOGIE DE L’INFORMATION ITAC on Talent | Page 2 THE VOICE OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SECTOR IN CANADA | www.itac.ca going hand-in-hand with organizational effectiveness.6 One particular study by McKinsey and Company found that companies with three or more women in senior management functions scored higher on organizational effectiveness.7 Research also shows that encouraging more women to join Boards and executive ranks can have a multiplier effect—resulting in more women joining those companies. Still, there appears to be a shortfall of female executive leadership. For example, women constitute only 16.5% of public ICT corporation Board members.8 This shortfall makes it harder for women to enter the ICT workforce and to aspire to occupy senior positions. A low rate of women employees also means that companies have a smaller talent pool to draw from. The Government can do much to encourage women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics starting from kindergarten and continuing through their adult life. While much of this work requires partnership with the Provinces support for programs such as Ladies Learning Code, afford the Government with a leadership opportunity which can be followed by the Provinces. ITAC recognizes that the Government is committed to bringing more women into ICT, as demonstrated by the following two things: • With help from Minister Hadju and the Department of Status of Women, ITAC was able to launch its Women on Boards program in mid-2016. This initiative helps women become “Board-ready,” and then stores their resumes in a searchable database. The goal is that ICT companies who wish to improve gender imbalance in their boardrooms and workplaces will use the database. • ITAC is also encouraged by some of the language included in Bill C-25, which seeks to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act, Canada Cooperatives Act, and Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act to—among other things—“require certain corporations to place before the shareholders, at every annual meeting, information respecting diversity among directors and the members of senior management.”9 By continuing to highlight the lack of diversity and economic benefits that flow from having executive women, ITAC believes companies will begin to hire more women and place them in positions of authority. Train and re-train Canadians Invest in youth Canada faces significant rates of youth unemployment. With 200,000 vacancies in ICT expected by 2020, the youth skills gap presents an opportunity for Government. Prime Minister Trudeau clearly understands the potential of youth in technology. This is demonstrated by the government’s strong focus on youth and jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); and its work on the Youth Employment Strategy. That said, with the pace of today’s technological advancement, it can be challenging for industry to find the skilled employees they need—and for educational institutions to create curricula that keep pace with those needs. Meanwhile, it is estimated that around 90% of all jobs over the next 20 years will require some level of digital skills. Therefore, digital skills must be at the heart of Canada’s education system. ITAC understands the needs of today’s employers and has developed programs to provide high school and post- secondary students with the digital skills they need: • With a placement rate of 90%, ITAC’s Business Technology Management (BTM) program provides post- secondary students with technology and business skills. This program exists due to generous contributions totalling more than $1 million dollars from the federal Government and private sector. • CareerMash inspires high school students to pursue post- secondary training in the ICT sector by helping them realize the connection points between technology and health, the arts, and other disciplines. To date, CareerMash has reached over 80,000 students, encouraging them to develop the digital skills required by tomorrow’s employers. 6 McKinsey & Company, Women Matter 2014 7 McKinsey and Company, page 3 8 Gender Diversity, page 3 9 https://openparliament.ca/bills/42-1/C-25/ To help close the digital skills gap in Canada, ITAC asks the Government to strongly encourage more women to enter ICT by providing and supporting targeted programs and scholarships geared toward this group. To fill the skills gap and help combat youth unemployment across Canada, ITAC seeks to expand the CareerMash program nationally—and asks the Government to provide funding of $2.5 million over five years to assist in this endeavour.