“We have a unique opportunity for universities and businesses to work together to ensure we equip talent to find innovative solutions that will reshape our local and global economies,” said University of Waterloo President Vivek Goel, in his keynote speech at the Waterloo Innovation Summit on April 14.
This half-day event hosted approximately 300 virtual and in-person guests from the business, academic and government sectors to discuss how evolving talent is transforming the workforce in Canada and around the world. From the rapid shift to remote working, to the challenges of recruiting top talent, to the shifting focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, employers and employees are rethinking the world of work. And, adds Goel, universities need to rethink how we prepare the next generation of talent to navigate these transformations and inspire them to be champions of equity, sustainability and democracy.
The Global Talent Reset
The Summit’s first keynote address was delivered by Dominic Barton, Chancellor of the University of Waterloo and former Canadian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.
Barton began by naming some of the deep forces underway that are fundamentally changing the way we think about developing and attracting talent and said the rate at which technology is changing is the biggest force changing the nature of work. He said “the clock speed of the world has accelerated dramatically” and businesses must be prepared to innovate and adapt much faster or risk becoming a “dinosaur”.
Skilled talent is essential to keep pace with technology. Barton said Canadian companies will have to think outside our borders to attract global talent to meet this demand. Before, people traveled for work, and now work travels to people.
Hear Barton’s perspective on the need to recruit internationally
Canada’s Growth Opportunity
John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive Officer, Royal Bank of Canada, addressed the Summit audience in person. He began his remarks by acknowledging that Canada’s post-pandemic reopening plan looks a bit more financially uncertain than what we envisioned a year ago. “Canada’s medium-term growth outlook is lagging,” he said. “We need a growth program.”
Stackhouse said climate innovation has the potential to be Canada’s growth accelerator. Here we have the natural resources as well as the expertise and talent to lead our global goal of reaching net zero. However, Canada needs to raise capital and talent to seize this opportunity and he believes that it will be the younger generation who can do it well. He said the people who will drive the innovations to get us to net zero are currently sitting in a classroom and we need to learn from them. “We need to keep our doors and our minds open on how to approach problems in new ways that combine human skills and technical skills.”
Hear from Stackhouse on Canada’s growth potential
Inspirational talent with real-world experience
Norah McRae, vice-president of cooperative and experiential education at the University of Waterloo, joined a panel discussion on creating a dynamic workforce. She said work-integrated learning, like work-study, “helps future students prepare for the future of work…and secures the future of our employers.” McRae explained that as students learn new skills, companies learn from students’ vast experiences and innovation mindsets.
McRae also spoke about the importance of goal in inspiring talent. Research from the Work Learn Institute in Waterloo has shown that “people are taking a closer look at how they want to create meaning and walk in this world”, so employers need to ensure their talents have meaning to what they contribute.
The theme of purpose inspired the Summit’s final keynote address by Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO of African Leadership Group, who joined the event virtually from Kenya. He said we need to go beyond the classroom when developing talent and inspire them with real-world applications. Swaniker noted that Waterloo is a good example of a school that does well in preparing students with real-world experience and investing in future entrepreneurs by pairing passionate talent with capital.
Swaniker emphasized the importance of empowering talent through capital investments and leadership opportunities to drive deliberate change. He said that “to ignite the next wave of global growth, we need to look in new places, like Africa, go beyond education and hands-on learning, and develop digital leaders.”
Hear Swaniker discuss harnessing untapped talent in Africa
The pandemic has helped crystallize the importance of talent even greater than many organizations previously realized. The conversations at the Waterloo Innovation Summit highlighted the opportunity to take a collaborative and holistic approach to recruiting and developing talent. Businesses, investors, policy makers and academia all play a vital role in enabling global talent to become inspired leaders ready to propel Canada’s future.
Talent does otherwise
A talent shift is underway, and the effects are felt in each sector. Waterloo’s strong talent ecosystem is equipped to meetD — of the best cooperative education programs in the world to research and innovations that drive change in the real world. Find out how your organization can benefit.
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