TechImpact CEO Cathy Simpson came from Nova Scotia to start her career here in Saint John with the idea of staying for 2 years. Her plan was to get some experience and then move to a larger city for more growth opportunities. Well, that was almost 33 years ago, and she says that staying in New Brunswick was the best decision she's made. Here, she’s created a meaningful career in the tech sector, raised a family, and has had opportunities to make an impact on the province she now calls home.
Yesterday, the TechImpact team had the opportunity to participate in GNB’s Newcomer Summit. The event, hosted by Minister Arlene Dunn and Premier Blaine Higgs, welcomed professional newcomers to network and find pathways to a career in New Brunswick. Supporting organizations such as Opportunities New Brunswick, Working NB, and the Saint John Newcomers Centre were there to offer immigration support, information and resources.
We met with newcomers who want the same – a chance to put down roots, and to grow here. We were able to meet with several ICT professionals who have recently decided to make Saint John their new home. These people have the skills and the drive that NB businesses need to grow.
Our focus at TechImpact is growing the economy through the use of technology and talented people. A key component is connecting this talent to job opportunities. For the past 3 months, we’ve been learning more about the pathway to the job market to get a better understanding of the support that is required, particularly for newcomer tech professionals.
This work started because of the aid requests we’ve received from jobseekers looking for tech employment support and employers looking for IT talent. In February, the team hosted the first Intro to Tech in NB session, a webinar that talked about the tech ecosystem, tech job market, and the provincial support available to job seekers. We were blown away at the attendance; over 170 people turned up to that first session, and we received over 80 resumes from tech job seekers looking for help. We knew we were on to something.
The resumes we received were full of potential, but we felt we could add value to these candidates by helping them present themselves in a way that would resonate better with the local tech market, so we created a second Intro to Tech session that focused on just that – professional tech job ready skills, tips and downloadable resources to help them further in their proactive job search. It was also apparent that some job seekers needed help with their networking skills to more effectively meet with tech employers, so we added networking tips and best practices to boost their confidence.
In two short months, we have received over 300 resumes, we have worked with over 50 job seekers as they are building their “tech ready and job ready” resumes. We also have over 35 resumes including those of recent UNB coding boot camp graduates on JobHub, a beta platform that showcases these candidates’ resumes to select employers and recruiters. And so far, one of these candidates was offered a job through JobHub and has started their new tech career in New Brunswick!
Our work has just begun. And we look forward to sharing more about this initiative, our partnership with Working NB to assist these job seekers together, and how we must support newcomer tech professionals to accelerate their path to tech employment.
We know that connecting talent to employers is only one part of the equation, so we continue the work by supporting employers with industry updates, offering new digital skills training programs like bootcamps and DEI learning events and by hosting InnovateNB networking events. Our next networking event is for tech job seekers and employers and will put the spotlight on the innovative research being done in our region. It will be held in Moncton on May 18 in collaboration with Université de Moncton. We hope to see you there! You can register for this event here and sign up to hear about TechImpact updates, news and events by joining our mailing list.
The Newcomer Summit yesterday was inspiring, and it's special to see newcomer professionals excited to put down their roots here in New Brunswick. Let's do all we can to ensure they are successful. If you or someone you know could benefit from our Intro to Tech in New Brunswick series, more information and a link to sign up can be found here.