SmartCity Blog

Speed Interviewing, Round One: The Digital Industry

By Denise DeLong

The energy was palpable! For our first of four Speed Interviewing events funded by the RBC Foundation, nineteen diverse Digital Industry companies accepted our invitation to participate and filled the Almon room of the Halifax Club on February 1st.

Twenty eight internationally skilled professionals were, as they say in the UK, suited and booted. Some had a decade of experience and some were about to be newly minted graduates. Each participant had researched the companies, requested their top three choices for people they wanted to meet and we did our best to match them in the Speed Interviewing rounds. As was mentioned in the participant feedback evaluations, this event was seen as a, "good platform to get to know what Halifax has to offer as an IT destination!”

To warm everybody up, the event started with a digital industry panel featuring Jason Powell from Digital Nova Scotia, Patrick MacNeil from Deloitte, John Leahy from ImmediaC and Dennis Young from ABM. They shared their perspectives on diversity in the workplace, current and future trends in the digital and IT industry and a message of hope for professionals settling in Halifax. Their messages echoed private and publicly supported perspectives on diversity and labour market strategies from Glen Dormody, Regional Vice President of RBC, Beatrice Croxen, Program Officer for Labour Market and Advanced Education, and our own Paul Kent, who also moderated the panel.

In intense 7 minute intervals, the Speed Interviewing sessions followed with exchanges that covered relevant experience, theory and practice, and the all important ‘fit’ with the company culture and values.  On the one hand, seven minutes falls short of being able to really find out what you need to know to hire someone.

Yet, if we believe in HR research that confirms we tend to make the initial decision in the first five minutes, then this exchange is certainly enough to decide if you want to bring someone in for a follow up. One interviewer shared that the event provided, "an excellent opportunity to meet potential employment candidates". According to the interviewers and interviewees, follow ups have indeed been scheduled!

The event ended with a networking reception at the Halifax Club’s popular Friday afternoon Happy Hour which revealed piqued interest from employers and employees. Some said that the follow up requests for further discussion came from the interview while others were sparked from those participants who showed initiative and approached employers during the short breaks between rounds 5 and 6. To observe skilled and sincere networking in action was an absolute treat.

In our Connector Program, we believe wholeheartedly in the magic that happens through face to face meetings and targeted referrals. Noticeably, in the spirit of ‘connector’ generosity, employers were recommending other companies to us who could be approached for future Digital IT events. Even among competitors, it’s clear that the common thread is the idea that promoting business development and talent strategies in Halifax benefits everyone. 

Please contact us to discuss involvement in upcoming Speed Interviewing & Networking events featuring the Financial Sector, Life Sciences, Oceans, Aerospace and Defence/Manufacturing and Logistics by e-mailing ddelong@greaterhalifax.com or calling 490-6000.

The Connector Program is funded under the Canada-Nova Scotia Labour Market Agreement.

The Connector Program Speed Interviewing event series is funded by RBC Foundation.

Keeping the Art of Crystal Making Alive

In the final episode of the SmartCity Business Show, host Craig Layton explores the history and the craft behind Nova Scotian Crystal.

Nova Scotian Crystal is the only producer of hand-made crystal in Canada.

The business’s story reads like a fairy tale. Workers with talented hands and the love of the craft came from the rolling hills of Ireland when machinery and mass production threatened the art of crystal making.

The passionate, skilled tradesmen who founded Nova Scotian Crystal immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1996. They soon became inspired. The province’s history has inspired, and currently still inspires, its collections and products, many of which don the same name.

In its waterfront warehouse and retail shop in Halifax, craftsmen at Nova Scotian Crystal give each product a personal story, keeping the art of crystal making alive.

 “One of the things we do here is make all of this crystal by hand which means every one piece is perfect; they’re just not all the same,” explains Rod McCulloch, Nova Scotian Crystal President and CEO. “There’s a little bit of the soul of every craftsman in every piece.”

With seven or eight craftsman working on that one item to make it perfect it’s easy to see that item as a work of art. In fact, one of the senior master craftsman at Nova Scotian Crystal believes it to be “art you can drink from.”

 And Rod agrees. He believes part of what Nova Scotian Crystal is doing is maintaining and enhancing the craft so it won’t die.

Although it is an art and the products are the masterpiece, Rod still wants his customers to have the full experience by being able to use their items – not just put them on display.

To ensure this the company backs every piece with a 100% guarantee. So if you lack grace (like Craig or myself) you still get to use your Nova Scotian Crystal products and gain that full experience. If it happens to fall, be dropped or get thrown and ends up chipped, cracked or broken, Nova Scotian Crystal will replace it.

During his visit at Nova Scotian Crystal, Craig ventures into the warehouse where he finds crystal makers perfecting their art. He meets with a craftsman who is busy at work and quickly explains the marks he’s following are guidelines to help with spacing. With a smile on says that the rest of his work relies on “pure talent, I guess.”

But there is no reason for these workers to be modest.

We profiled businesses and initiatives in several sectors during this season of SmartCity. From augmenting reality at Ad Dispatch to zooming around with NS Power and the Share ready initiative. Each showed us the diversity, connections and innovations this city has to offer.

Nevertheless, ending this season of SmartCity by highlighting the sheer skill of workers we have in this city is no coincidence. After all it’s the people that make Halifax a smart city.

CityMatters: Despite Challenges People Love Halifax

By David Fleming

Last week, Metro News Halifax published a series of articles from CityMatters 2012, a citizen survey performed with partners MQO Research and the Greater Halifax Partnership. Its aim is simple; to ask Halifax residents how they feel about the city, the economy, and their satisfaction with living in the city and other key quality of life factors.

The Greater Halifax Partnership has also published the slideshow from our investor “sneak peek” and the raw data from the survey. While Metro News Halifax covered the individual areas, for me the most interesting thing is looking at some broad themes and how the city is progressing.

CityMatters - MQO Presentation from Greater Halifax Partnership

 

There is a clear mandate for downtown revitalization. 

84% of residents believe that the revitalization of downtown is important or very important. Only 14% believe that current efforts are very good. The good news is many of the intangibles of a vibrant downtown (restaurants and cafes, safety, arts and culture and tourist-friendliness) are highly rated and a number of high profile developments have recently been started such as the Nova Centre ($500 million), Central Library ($55 million), TD Centre ($26 million) and RBC Waterside($25 million).

A concerted effort to encourage more businesses, residents and development in the downtown, along with improvements in transportation are priority for the revitalization effort.  Groups like the Strategic Urban Partnership and the Community Design Advisory Committee are focused on similar themes. 

There is work to be done to create confidence in the economy.

Unlike most Canadian cities, Halifax’s economy grew every year during the recession. The challenge for most regions that do relatively well during a recession is that they tend to grow a little slower after. Contracts being negotiated by Halifax Shipyard for the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy come with silence during the planning stages and public confidence that swelled has returned to pre-announcement levels.  Much of the preparatory work at all levels is happening now, but without bricks and mortar or job postings, it is difficult to see it.

In particular, residents scored good job opportunities as one of their lowest rated attributes in the city; particularly 18-34 year olds. In order to grow confidence in our economy, we need to work together to create more and better opportunities and connect our residents do them.   

Despite these challenges, people love living in Halifax.  

 At the end of the day, people feel like Halifax is a safe place to raise kids, a friendly city with a high quality of life and good health care. We know this from the Halifax Index too and our measures of quality of place. Largely, people would recommend Halifax to others as a good place to live.  These are all really positive attributes for a community to build on into the future. 

 

You Might Also Like: 

• CityThink 2011
• The Halifax Index - What is it & Why does it matter
• BMO: "Halifax has growth in its sails"
• AGREATERHalifax: Halifax's 2011-16 Economic Strategy

 

Author: David Fleming

David is the Junior Economist and Project Development Coordinator at the Greater Halifax Partnership. He studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Prince Edward Island, and has experience working with private, public and non-profit organizations.

Celebrating Community in Halifax

By Margie Casallas

The 7th Annual Welcome BBQ that took place at the Halifax south Commons on July 7th was a big hit.

The Welcome BBQ is organized each year by a committee representing many organizations that serve newcomers in our region.

Community organizations, partners and volunteers arrived at the site early to set up the BBQ, organize the tents, test the sound system, husk the corn and make sure that everything would be ready for when newcomers and Halifax residents arrived to enjoy this multi-cultural event.

Local percussion group Samba Nova opened the floor and people danced despite the rain. The event also had the participation of a Nepali group who was singing and dancing traditional music and Zumba instructors who engaged everyone in fast and energetic steps…uno, dos, tres…jump! Uno, dos, tres, turn around!

Attendees also enjoyed free hot dogs, corn, sweet potatoes slices and a delicious cake! Kids played soccer and badminton, got their faces painted, received free books and enjoyed watching the police dog Steeler demonstrate his duties.

This event is truly an example of commitment from many community organizations, partners and volunteers to welcome newcomers and celebrate multiculturalism in our community!

Thanks to everyone who made this event successful! We will see you next year….rain or shine.

Community partners and contributors included:

• African Diaspora Association of the Maritimes (ADAM)
• All Women’s Empowerment and Development (AWEDA)
• Carpenter Millwright Trades College
• Frontier College Fusion Halifax
• Greater Halifax Partnership 
• Halifax Regional Police
• Halifax Water
• HRM Volunteer Services
• HRM Fire and Emergency Services
• HRM Recreation
• Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services (ISIS)
• Royal Seniors Club
• YMCA

Author: Margie Casallas 

Margie Casallas is a Coordinator for the Immigration Employer Support Program. This program is a Greater Halifax Partnership initiative to shift attitudes about hiring newcomers and educate business owners on the benefits of hiring an immigrant. To book an appointment with Margie: mcasallas@greaterhalifax.com or 490.7464

 

BMO: "Halifax has growth in its sails"

Nova Scotia has received another positive outlook on its economic future. BMO Capital Markets released a special report today on Halifax, and they see big things coming; more production, employment and housing starts.

Source: BMO Regional Close-up

In the short-term, preparatory work at Halifax Shipyard and major projects across the province should boost real GDP growth from 0.3% in 2011 to 2.3% in 2013. This is expected to ramp up by 2016, with over 12,000 jobs added and Halifax's unemployment rate dropping to 4%. Major employment growth is expected to trigger plenty of consumer demand, including housing starts and sales, and retail markets getting a boost. While a hot housing market generally means increased prices, housing remains relatively affordable in Halifax in comparison to other major cities and has room to grow.

Population growth has slowed but continues to be above national averages. Buoyed by international immigration, Nova Scotia continues to add to its population, although outflows to Alberta and other provinces present a cause for concern, particularly if those outflows are in skilled labour.

This brings us to the “what does this mean to me?” portion of this piece. First, BMO is urging Halifax businesses to get their share of capital available in the market to make the investments in people and equipment necessary to maximize growth. Furthermore, government programs are available to provide assistance in developing your workforce or for making capital investments.

Second, I urge you to take a look at the economic impact work that the Greater Halifax Partnership completed on the shipbuilding contract. The breadth and depth of a major project like this has significant impact in a large number of industries.

People typically focus on the direct beneficiaries (the Shipyard, metal workers, defence), however understanding how indirect and induced economic activity works should make a range of folks excited. A few examples:

• More businesses and greater activity means a need for accountants, IT companies, lawyers, banks and other professionals;
• More employment and wages lead to more spending within the local economy; that means more haircuts, dry cleaning, cars, houses, groceries and nights out at a restaurant or taking in a show.

So when considering how major projects in Nova Scotia are driving economic growth, consider whether this is the time for your business to take that next step even if you aren’t building a ship. Expansion within an expanding market makes a lot of sense, and our SmartBusiness team can help you understand what might be available to you and how you can take advantage. 

Author: David Fleming 

David is the Junior Economist and Project Development Coordinator at the Greater Halifax Partnership. He studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Prince Edward Island, and has experience working with private, public and non-profit organizations. 

 

Halifax delivers for UPS Canada

Author: Mike MacKenzie

For UPS Canada, the decision to expand east was an easy one.

Encouraged by Atlantic Canada’s positive growth outlook and booming economic prospects, the international shipping giant knew the time was right to make a forward thinking move. In early 2012 they made it official, with the announcement of six new locations across the Atlantic Provinces resulting in the creation of 250 new jobs.

“Atlantic Canada is one of the only areas predicting double-digit growth in the export market,” says Shelley Gares, Atlantic Director of Operations for UPS Canada. “It’s a very, very lucrative and attractive market for us to be in.”

As Atlantic Canada’s regional hub city, Halifax is playing a prominent role in the company’s plans for expansion. The city will be an important centre for UPS Canada’s Atlantic operations.

The Greater Halifax Partnership took an active role in helping the company establish themselves in the city, providing an array of services and leveraging important connections to ensure that UPS Canada was in touch with all of the right people.

“We were thrilled that UPS Canada recognized Halifax as an international gateway for shipping and transportation,” says Robyn Webb, Director of Business Retention and Expansion and Labour Market Development at the Greater Halifax Partnership. “We are happy to help ease the transition as they establish their operations.”

Through the SmartBusiness Program, the Partnership was active in helping UPS Canada recruit the right talent for their team. They facilitated important connections with Halifax Regional Municipality, various universities and colleges in Halifax, Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services (ISIS), the 3rd annual International Careers Fair and the HRM Job Development Group. These connections resulted in invitations for UPS Canada to attend three different job fairs, an important factor for a company looking to hire for over 100 positions in Halifax alone.

The Partnership also gave UPS Canada advice on the right location for their own job fair, and helped promote the event both on their website and through their social media channels.  It’s been this support that UPS Canada says has made the difference.

“Greater Halifax Partnership has been instrumental in supporting our recruitment efforts,” says Michelle Riffin, Employer Services Manager for the East Canada division of UPS. “Through their support we’ve been able to make extremely important contacts and get off the ground in Halifax.”

With at least 100 new jobs and significant investments made to establish the company here, UPS Canada’s expansion is proof that Halifax is a great place to do business. 

Author: Mike MacKenzie 

Mike is the former Communications and Marketing Assistant with the Greater Halifax Partnership. 

The Halifax Index - What is it & Why does it matter

by David Fleming 

We’re one week away from the release of The Halifax Index (Halifax’s new economic progress tool). As the lead researcher and writer, I thought I’d explain where this project came from, why I think it’s important and what you can expect from the first Index. 

When AGREATERHalifax, Economic Strategy for 2011-16 was being developed, the vision and values that were behind it were different than your typical economic strategy. Ideas and actions around sustainable environment, social capital, and building a diverse and vibrant community emerged from the collaborative development process. As such, it is evident that simple economic indicators like jobs and the amount of production were not going to tell the story of our community's progress. We had to build something different.

Take population growth as an example. When someone is choosing where to live, a number of key questions drive their decision: 

• Will I find a good job?
• Will I find affordable housing?
• Is the local community welcoming?
• Will I be safe and healthy?
• Is there a vibrant arts, culture and recreation community?
• Are there better opportunities in other communities?

The Index’s four sections, “People,” “Economy,” “Quality of Place,” and “Sustainability,” represent a more comprehensive approach to measuring economic progress. Working with local organizations, governments and consulting a variety of publications from other communities, we’ve built a set of indicators that represent the best data available to tell that story. The Index will get better each year as we harness more of the collective wisdom of the community and build strong research relationships between government, non-profit, academia and the business community. 

The first Index is about setting a benchmark for progress. We’ve identified key opportunities and challenges around immigration, our regulatory climate, urban area growth and a cultural change we need to make that will help our community progress towards its goal. We’ll unveil these findings, and others, at the first annual Halifax State of the Economy Conference on May 23rd-24th, 2012. 

Remember that the Economic Strategy is just a blueprint. It requires action from everyone to realize our vision for Halifax. If we do the right things and continue to work together, the Halifax Index will tell a story of a community that’s vibrant, diverse, healthy and full of opportunity for many. 

 

Author: David Fleming 

David is the Junior Economist and Project Development Coordinator at the Greater Halifax Partnership. He studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Prince Edward Island, and has experience working with private, public and non-profit organizations. 

What is your vision for a culturally diverse and “integrated”community?

For the past decade the buzz word “integration” has anchored Canadian immigration discourse. Policy analysts, academics, immigrant settlement workers, newcomers and community members use the word “integration” to describe the ultimate goal of immigration and settlement. Yet, despite the term’s prevalence, there tend to be many different views on what “integration” means, in definition as well as in practice.

Certainly, in the post-Trudeau era of multiculturalism, use of the term “integration” reflects a shift in Canadian values. This shift represents a departure from an “assimilist” past towards an appreciation of cultural diversity and an emphasis on encouraging active citizenship and community membership of newcomers to Canada. However, some argue that “integration” is simply a semantic replacement for “assimilation,” with very little actually changing on the ground in terms of settlement experiences of newcomers to Canada.

What does integration and settlement mean at the community level? When does a person feel like they belong? How can community members, whether newcomers or established residents, create an environment where people from different cultural backgrounds feel accepted for who they are, connected to their community, and valued for their contributions?

The Community Integration Network (CIN), an informal network of Nova Scotia stakeholders and organizations, believe that it is at the community level where creative solutions to these questions can be found and where new questions can emerge.

On May 12, the Community Integration Network will hold a Community Diversity and Integration Symposium at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Unlike traditional symposiums which highlight guest speakers and experts, the forum will be informal with an emphasis on sharing knowledge and experiences. Participants will choose what they want to discuss and how they want to express it.

Merek Jagielski, a volunteer leader of CIN describes the community development approach of the Symposium:

“The main intent of this Symposium is to consult and hear from community members about their perspectives and insights in what would be the best approaches in making community integration work in Nova Scotia."

The vision of ‘the integrated and holistic community’ championed by the Network may lead us into working on a community paradigm shift that may eventually result in developing the community integration strategy for Nova Scotia.” 

Adopting an open forum and informal approach the Symposium will provide space for people to reclaim the meaning of integration as well as put it into practice. This takes our understanding of integration beyond the abstract level of semantics back into our communities, where a shared sense of inclusivity, value and belonging, matter the most.

For more information about this and other Museum public programs, visit www.pier21.ca.

 

Philippa Gunn is the Adult Public Programs Coordinator at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Iranian Business Trade Show Connects Community

By Nikki Jafari

By all accounts, the 2nd annual Iranian Business Trade Show last month was a great success. This year’s event managed to double both the number of vendors and attendees from our previous year, and also saw the addition of new, fun activities such as a kid’s corner with crafts and face painting, live music, as well as a cafeteria area featuring delicious authentic food.

While this event is a fun community gathering, it also serves an important business need. For a lot of immigrants, the work culture in Canada is very different than in their home countries; even if they are naturally savvy business people, it still inevitably takes them a while to learn the ropes.

That’s why this event is a great opportunity for newcomers – it gives them a chance to enter into the Canadian trade show scene for the first time, and in an environment that is filled with supportive business people just like them. For smaller family-run immigrant businesses, it’s often too expensive to attend larger events. This is actually one of the main reasons why the Iranian Business Trade Show was created. With a price point that is reasonable for small businesses, our event opens the door to those who cannot afford the expense of traditional shows, giving them a chance to establish networks and expand their contact base here in Halifax.

Building a Welcoming Community

The trade show also encourages more multiculturalism and an attitude of inclusion here in Halifax. Our event is open to all members of the community - not just those of Iranian heritage – meaning that it represents a great chance to celebrate and learn about our culture. This helps to foster an attitude of appreciation and acceptance, something that goes a long way in making immigrants feel welcome and at home in our city.

Looking forward to next year, we’re already imagining ways to build on our success. Our goal is to expand both our reach and our focus, something that will be accomplished by opening up the trade show to all international small-businesses. We also plan on developing an event website to help with promotions and improving this year’s immensely successful Iranian Business Directory.

As always the event will be free to the public, and also a fantastic way to have fun and celebrate Halifax’s diverse cultural make-up. We hope to see you there!

Author: Nikki Jafari

Nikki Jafari is a Mobile Mortgage Specialist for TD Canada Trust and one of the producers behind the Iranian Business Trade Show

Federal Budget: How Job Reallocations Tend to Work

By Fred Morley

With the federal budget set to be tabled this afternoon, how expenditure review will roll out regionally should be on the minds of business and government in Halifax.  Good fiscal numbers recently have reduced the likelihood of massive cuts.  However, there will be some cuts as government reallocates funding to priority areas.

Rumblings of major federal employment and reallocation of efforts to national priorities harkens back to the mid-1990s when deep and disproportionate federal spending cuts significantly undercut Nova Scotia`s economy.

 

A tale of two cities

In the early 1990s close to 6000 federal jobs and about a quarter of a billion dollars in annual income and consumer spending disappeared permanently from the province.  These cuts continue to have a big impact on Nova Scotia`s economy even 15 years later.  Now that we seem headed into another period of belt tightening, it’s worthwhile to understand what happened last time when  a surprisingly high percentage of cuts and resulting pain came to Nova Scotia. 

In 1990, over 21,000 federal public servants were employed in Nova Scotia, compared to 104,000 in Ottawa in the national capital region.   As expenditure review took hold, federal employment fell to a low of 91,000 in Ottawa in 1997.  The low point for Nova Scotia was 15, 730 a couple of years later.  By this time Ottawa had begun to rebuild and federal jobs had surged by 4,000…even as cuts were still happening elsewhere in the country.

 

Over the 1990s (1990 to 2000) Ottawa lost a total of 5,372 jobs, while Halifax lost 5,247.   From the low-point of expenditure control in 1997 to 2011, Ottawa added 45,240 jobs, while Halifax added a total of 480. 

Even in recent times, Ottawa has continued to add federal employment. In the six years from 2005 to 2011, the National Capitol Region added 24,544 jobs compared to 140 in Halifax over the same period.

It took Halifax 10 years to recover from the federal job cuts. And our recovery came primarily from sustained job creation in the private sector.

If history is any measure, the bottom line for a new fiscal imperative to cut federal jobs doesn’t look very good for Nova Scotia. As deficit reduction efforts roll out, it is my hope that government has a mind to past pain and retaining key regional innovation capacity.  Fingers crossed.  

 

Author: Fred Morley

Fred Morley is the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at the Greater Halifax Partnership.