Canada estimates it will have will have 218,000 open tech jobs by 2021. The anticipated global labor-skills shortage is 4.3 million workers by 2030.
These days it is not enough to just post on job boards and passively wait for applicants… because the global demand for those same applicants is 10:1. You are not only competing for talent with other companies in your city, province or country – you are also competing internationally.
Fast growing companies need to be competitive and look at a diverse strategy to attract and retain the best talent.
For junior talent, most companies hire graduates of post secondary programs and they are aware of coding boot camps and internship programs for students. The harder hires are senior and intermediates with over 7 years experience. For that talent you can poach from another company. This is a zero sum game for the overall tech ecosystem in your city, but works for a few hires.
If you need to scale, your team’s local network will run dry. You will need to expand your resources to search the country and possibly the globe. But most companies don’t have the time or resources to do that, and where do you start?
1. Expand your network: There are a few organizations like Tech Talent Canada that host talent hiring events across the country. Other ideas are to visit other cities for hiring fairs, attend networking events, and hackathons. Keep your eyes open you never know where you will find your next hire.
2. Go global: All the big companies are hoovering every country around the world for talent, but not everyone in those countries wants to work for Amazon or Google. Lever third parties who have access to talent in other countries and know how to identify and relocate international talent. One strategy to reduce your risk is by only paying for successful placements. Some companies will even manage the work permits and relocation.
Now is the time to start thinking beyond borders, your next hire might not be sitting down the road but across the ocean. By casting a wider net you might just find someone better than you could’ve ever hoped for, who will bring different skills and new ideas.
At Global Talent Accelerator we believe in diversity of thinking and that there are multiple solutions to the same problem. If you are interested in learning how we can help solve your talent acquisition challenges, book a call with us.
Tiona Corcoran is the VP Recruitment & Immigration with Global Talent Accelerator.