TIPPING: B.C.’s economic imperative

B.C.’S ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE

People and investments needed to help startups scale-up

JILL TIPPING

At BC Tech, we are on a mission to make B.C. the best place to grow and scale a tech company. In the past year, we were thrilled to see so many billion-dollar-valuation tech unicorns emerge. But despite these immense successes, our sector is still far from reaching its full potential, with only 2% of B.C.’s tech companies reaching the key scale-up size of at least 100 people. So while we are thrilled to smash through the ceiling of unicorn valuations in B.C., we need to see many more than 2% of tech companies realize their scale-up potential.

20TH CENTURY THINKING CAN’T GUIDE 21ST CENTURY DECISIONS

This summer, BC Tech released our New Economic Narrative report, which examined the current economic reality, as well as analyzed the trends and headwinds that are shaping our future economy. Over the past three decades, a massive shift has occurred, as we have rapidly become a knowledge- and service-driven economy. In fact, this now accounts for 75% of B.C.’s gross domestic product, 80% of B.C.’s jobs and 50% of B.C.’s exports.

Our economy has shifted, but our thinking still needs to catch up. We are not a goods-driven economy; we are a knowledge-driven economy. This changing landscape requires a shift in how we talk about our economy and where we invest going forward.

WE CAN BUILD A BRIGHT AND PROSPEROUS FUTURE FOR B.C.

Within this new economic reality, technology and innovation are ripe to drive economic growth, but we can only realize this potential if we can effectively scale our capacity for growth. When we look at why B.C. tech companies remain small — not only compared to other global ecosystems, but compared to other parts of Canada — the answer is clear. B.C. does not lack capital or startups with entrepreneurial ambition. What it lacks is funding to provide the kinds of programs that help those startups grow from small to medium-sized, and from medium-sized to large.

Ontario took action in 2019 to leverage $52 million in federal funding for a provincial Scale-Up accelerator platform. This is why BC Tech has been advocating for a proportionate $31 million federal investment in a ScaleUP accelerator platform for B.C. With a further $10 million provincial investment, this program will support 800 companies to scale and create 10,000 tech jobs.

TALENT IS KEY TO B.C.’S FUTURE

We have an urgent need to address the greatest constraint on tech company growth: talent availability. This talent crunch is impacting tech companies of all sizes, from startups to multinationals. The tech sector creates more jobs than we can fill. Government projects 75,000 tech job openings by 2029 — the tech sector thinks the number will be more than twice that. B.C.’s tech economy is limited only by our ability to meet talent demand with talent supply.

BC Tech’s talent programs have provided rapid skilling to help 120 individuals impacted by the pandemic make a career shift into the tech industry. We also will provide more than 200 paid internships for individuals to get real life experience working for technology companies. Of these internships, 150 will be filled by individuals from underrepresented groups — specifically, Indigenous people, women, neuro-diverse people, rural youth and transitioning workers.

Addressing entry-level talent demand is only part of the solution. We also need to find creative ways to address the senior experienced talent gap that is holding back scale-up success for B.C. tech companies. Immigration is part of

Source: Member poll (April 2021), BC Tech

the solution, and BC Tech is proud to be a referral partner for the Global Talent Stream and to have successfully advocated for the BC Provincial Nominee Program’s tech pilot to be extended indefinitely and become BC PNP Tech.

The other part of the solution is the ScaleUP BC platform and the leadership training, mentorship, network connections and advisory services it will enable tech companies to access. We call it ‘senior experienced talent as a service.’ Rather than making an upfront capital investment in all the key roles required to fully scale a company, ScaleUP BC will enable a tech company to leverage the ScaleUP partner’s advisory services and network to develop their internal talent, address gaps, determine where strategic hires need to be made and immediately access the skills they most require.

WE MUST INVEST IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE SERVICES ECONOMY

For a knowledge-based, service-driven economy to thrive, people have to be at the centre. If you think of people as an asset to invest in for economic returns, it turns on its head how you think about things like education, transport, connectivity, childcare or elder care. This is the infrastructure that people need for their lives. In the 21st century, people are the key source of value; talent is the key source of value.

As the president and CEO of BC Tech, I believe that B.C.’s economic imperative is clear. We need to support our tech economy, we need to help more than 2% of B.C.’s tech startups scale-up, we need to invest more in talent and we need to address the senior experienced talent gap with targeted programming. We must invest in ScaleUP BC and we must deliver a strong, thriving and diverse tech sector with jobs right across the province. Together, we can do this.

Jill Tipping is president and CEO of BC Tech. To learn more about BC Tech’s New Economic Narrative report or ScaleUP BC, visit wearebctech.com.