As someone who has witnessed the collaboration among the members of the Talent Attraction Project, led by Jackie Arnold of I Heart My Work and Amedeo Bernardi of Canadian Rural & Remote Broadband Community (CRRBC) firsthand, I can say with confidence that there was unanimity relating to the magnitude and the opportunity in attracting talent to the telecommunications industry, particularly in reference to remote and rural broadband.

The team’s findings have been completely consistent with our Sales Outsource Solutions team’s own anecdotal findings when speaking with service providers, the contracting/build partners, and municipalities and First Nation communities alike.  As outlined in the report, there are so many opportunities to attract new Canadians, women, and those in the BIPOC population.

Prior to the establishment of the Talent Attraction Study team, there was much discussion but little in the way of any attempts to better understand our talent deficit predicament, but more importantly, little in the way of suggested solutions.

The work in completing the study, in my opinion has not only identified more clearly the problem and its root causes but has begun to chart a course of action to attract individuals to assist in building out our country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Suggestions such as specific industry education and accreditation programs are tangible examples of what is required to do more than simply bemoan our current dilemma relative to proble of not enough people to build the aforementioned infrastructure.

I, among many others with a sincere passion to address Canada’s digital divide, am extremely grateful to Jackie and Amedeo for leading this initiative.

Tim Emoff, Vice President & Partner