As our fiscal year comes to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on the past year at Toronto Global. Despite the circumstances and challenges faced in the Toronto Region and around the world, we’re proud of the results we have achieved in 2021/22, and throughout the pandemic.
Rewind to March 2020; it wasn’t a great time to be pitching expansion to international companies. The world was extremely uncertain and information about the virus and its implications was scarce; borders began to close; travel was almost nonexistent; and many businesses were forced to dramatically shift operations based on public health guidelines, as well as reassess future expansion or relocation plans.
At Toronto Global, our market teams shifted to focus on checking in with existing clients, solidifying our relationships for a time when international expansion plans were more realistic, and building our pipeline with new and innovative companies seeking dynamic markets, like the Toronto Region, to continue to grow and thrive. However, the future of FDI remained uncertain.
Fast-forward to present-day 2022, and companies are betting big on Toronto again! In the past few years, we have had the pleasure of welcoming companies like Infosys, Reddit, Twitter, HCL, Syntronic and Billennium to the Toronto Region, among dozens of other big names. These companies all have one thing in common: an insatiable need for talent.
Recruiting high quality talent has become the number one driver and motivation to invest for almost all of our clients. Companies want to know how they can attract and retain the talent that is going to help drive their business forward, continue to innovate, and be competitive on the global stage. It’s no longer a secret that Toronto is a hotbed for talent, and international companies are arriving in droves to get in on the action.
Early last year, Infosys announced a digital development centre, and its largest Canadian office, in Mississauga. The company is looking to hire upwards of 500 people across the region over the next few years. With a wide range of roles currently open, it’s a great time to be a part of Infosys’ Canadian story – one that seeks to meet the surging demand for employee training, re-skilling, and learning.
Reddit announced Toronto as it’s first Canadian office early last year, cementing the region as a critical location in the internationalization strategies of top global tech companies. As an engineering hub for the company, the Toronto office continues to grow, currently hiring for various roles including Engineering Managers, Data Scientists, Backend Engineers, and Frontend Engineers.
Twitter recently announced an expansion of its Canadian presence with the establishment of an engineering hub in Toronto. Initially posting 24 open roles in early 2021, Twitter’s career page now lists 75 positions, confirming its commitment to and confidence in the regional talent base. From roles in software and data engineering, to those in machine learning, Twitter’s Toronto engineering hub has a role for almost any experience level.
Swedish engineering design house Syntronic further solidified its commitment to Canada by opening an office in the Markham area of the Toronto Region in 2021. The company is currently searching for a site lead, but also has openings in hardware, software, and project management. The strategic decision to locate in the Toronto Region was once again based on access to talent, post-secondary institutions, and high-quality research.
Polish IT firm, Billennium, opened its first North American HQ in Mississauga last year, marking a significant milestone in the company’s growth. With the goal of hiring 150-200 technology specialists, primarily in the areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning and computerized systems validation, the company chose the Toronto Region largely to leverage our deep talent pool, strong postsecondary institutions, and vibrant innovation and tech ecosystem.
Don’t just take our word for it. Learn from the 160+ companies that we’ve helped to locate here in the Toronto Region. Not only is it a great place to grow your business, it’s also one of the best destinations in North America to attract and retain high quality talent. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, reach out to us today – our team is ready to help make your talent goals a reality!
Ellen Mitchell is the Senior Advisor, Talent Partnerships at Toronto Global. Reach out if you are looking to build or scale a team in the Toronto Region.