Why tech jobs aren't the great leveler
This article was interesting read today.
It is another in the list of things which I can agree with in part. Or, perhaps, this time I can agree more fully. But perhaps not for the reasons discussed. Well... reasons aren't really given. More, metrics.
I think technology CAN be a great leveler. But tends not to be for societal reasons.
I grew up in a city just an hour's drive away from Toronto. A major Canadian tech hub. But, there were virtually no jobs in my city, despite being a large city, close to a tech hub, with an excess of talent and a monstrous cost of living.
While it would impractical for me to claim that I have all of the answers, I do think that there are some simple ones which are, at the least, major contributing factors.
Firstly, is simply the social response. Outside of major cities, it seems as though the average work seeking individual is not highly skilled. I remember turning on the radio one day, and the mayor was talking about how a major telecom company was building a data center in the town, bring hundreds of jobs to the community. A woman calls in and says "We don't need those jobs. What the people of this city need are high paying jobs in manufacturing. What are you doing about that?".
I live in that city most of my life. I knew that her feelings likely reflected those of a greater portion of the population than those excited about the new high tech jobs. It doesn't matter that the manufacturing jobs are leaving or being automated and her desires aren't really something a mayor can confidently do anything about. The city has a big population of unskilled labourers. And it is pretty safe to say that the average one of them isn't running out to get skills that would help them in the tech industry.
Sure, there are a lot of skilled people living in the city and commuting to Toronto. And I'm sure some of them would jump at the opportunity to work closer to home. But, not enough to create a boom.
Let's face it, the company built a data center an hour out of Toronto so that they could pay less for labour. It wasn't meant as a means to jump start a bustling tech economy. The chose our region because the cost of living was lower. And because they felt it was far enough away from Toronto that it wouldn't trigger a boom.
Beyond the social acceptance problem is the scalability problem. Our proximity to Toronto meant that the tech industry was growing. But, it was almost exclusively smaller operations. A handful of employees here and there. Finding a tech company in that city with more than 20 people would be a challenge. And, the companies which choose to start there either know this, or move if things take off. People don't think to look for tech jobs in that city, so it is hard to grow your business with talented individuals.
And a problem for growth is infrastructure. Making one large tech company, let alone enough of them to trigger a boom requires certain things. For instance, most larger business are very much international. Proximity to an international airport is almost an overt necessity to large businesses. You want prospective customers and partners to visit your offices and/or you want to be able to make such trips. Being an hour away from the nearest such airport on a good day (and upwards of 3 hours if the weather/traffic is bad) kills most people's ambitions.
Talent is another problem. While I admitted that there is a lot of talent living in that city, how and why it got there is important. They didn't move there and THEN find jobs an hour away. They moved there expecting to commute to Toronto, or moved from Toronto with the job in hand to escape the cost of living.
The city I grew up in had a low college. In Canada, a college is like a community college in the US. Universities are what produce the tech workers. Without already being a major tech hub, you also need that stream of talent. And for that, you need a University (or your nation's equivalent) that has a decent array of tech related offerings. Then, businesses can scoop up grads already living in the area, instead of worrying about how you might poach job seekers away from a place like Toronto.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. But, it is easy to see; there is a lot that needs to change to make even getting started in tech possible. From changing the local mindset, to making it appealing and reasonable for businesses to flourish to securing a source of fresh talent. The city I grew up in is Barrie, ON. As per this wiki entry, it is the 9th largest population center in Ontario. It isn't some rinky-dink city and has a larger population than a number of Ontario cities with much greater technological success.
For instance, Kanata. While, the list on Wikipedia lists them as close in population, Kanata is a suburb of Ottawa. So, its population is basically the number in Wikipedia and nothing more. If you open up Barrie's and look at the metropolitan population you see it gets well over 200K and makes it almost double Kanata's size. And yet, Kanata has a bustling tech scene, compared to Barrie's virtually non-existent one. But, Kanata benefits from a close proximity to Carleton and Ottawa Universities, as well as a nearby college. Travel to Ottawa airport is quick, and there are multiple convenient ways there. And, being considered an Ottawa suburb means it is often included in job searches in Ottawa, even though it technically isn't part of Ottawa proper.
It is another in the list of things which I can agree with in part. Or, perhaps, this time I can agree more fully. But perhaps not for the reasons discussed. Well... reasons aren't really given. More, metrics.
I think technology CAN be a great leveler. But tends not to be for societal reasons.
I grew up in a city just an hour's drive away from Toronto. A major Canadian tech hub. But, there were virtually no jobs in my city, despite being a large city, close to a tech hub, with an excess of talent and a monstrous cost of living.
While it would impractical for me to claim that I have all of the answers, I do think that there are some simple ones which are, at the least, major contributing factors.
Firstly, is simply the social response. Outside of major cities, it seems as though the average work seeking individual is not highly skilled. I remember turning on the radio one day, and the mayor was talking about how a major telecom company was building a data center in the town, bring hundreds of jobs to the community. A woman calls in and says "We don't need those jobs. What the people of this city need are high paying jobs in manufacturing. What are you doing about that?".
I live in that city most of my life. I knew that her feelings likely reflected those of a greater portion of the population than those excited about the new high tech jobs. It doesn't matter that the manufacturing jobs are leaving or being automated and her desires aren't really something a mayor can confidently do anything about. The city has a big population of unskilled labourers. And it is pretty safe to say that the average one of them isn't running out to get skills that would help them in the tech industry.
Sure, there are a lot of skilled people living in the city and commuting to Toronto. And I'm sure some of them would jump at the opportunity to work closer to home. But, not enough to create a boom.
Let's face it, the company built a data center an hour out of Toronto so that they could pay less for labour. It wasn't meant as a means to jump start a bustling tech economy. The chose our region because the cost of living was lower. And because they felt it was far enough away from Toronto that it wouldn't trigger a boom.
Beyond the social acceptance problem is the scalability problem. Our proximity to Toronto meant that the tech industry was growing. But, it was almost exclusively smaller operations. A handful of employees here and there. Finding a tech company in that city with more than 20 people would be a challenge. And, the companies which choose to start there either know this, or move if things take off. People don't think to look for tech jobs in that city, so it is hard to grow your business with talented individuals.
And a problem for growth is infrastructure. Making one large tech company, let alone enough of them to trigger a boom requires certain things. For instance, most larger business are very much international. Proximity to an international airport is almost an overt necessity to large businesses. You want prospective customers and partners to visit your offices and/or you want to be able to make such trips. Being an hour away from the nearest such airport on a good day (and upwards of 3 hours if the weather/traffic is bad) kills most people's ambitions.
Talent is another problem. While I admitted that there is a lot of talent living in that city, how and why it got there is important. They didn't move there and THEN find jobs an hour away. They moved there expecting to commute to Toronto, or moved from Toronto with the job in hand to escape the cost of living.
The city I grew up in had a low college. In Canada, a college is like a community college in the US. Universities are what produce the tech workers. Without already being a major tech hub, you also need that stream of talent. And for that, you need a University (or your nation's equivalent) that has a decent array of tech related offerings. Then, businesses can scoop up grads already living in the area, instead of worrying about how you might poach job seekers away from a place like Toronto.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. But, it is easy to see; there is a lot that needs to change to make even getting started in tech possible. From changing the local mindset, to making it appealing and reasonable for businesses to flourish to securing a source of fresh talent. The city I grew up in is Barrie, ON. As per this wiki entry, it is the 9th largest population center in Ontario. It isn't some rinky-dink city and has a larger population than a number of Ontario cities with much greater technological success.
For instance, Kanata. While, the list on Wikipedia lists them as close in population, Kanata is a suburb of Ottawa. So, its population is basically the number in Wikipedia and nothing more. If you open up Barrie's and look at the metropolitan population you see it gets well over 200K and makes it almost double Kanata's size. And yet, Kanata has a bustling tech scene, compared to Barrie's virtually non-existent one. But, Kanata benefits from a close proximity to Carleton and Ottawa Universities, as well as a nearby college. Travel to Ottawa airport is quick, and there are multiple convenient ways there. And, being considered an Ottawa suburb means it is often included in job searches in Ottawa, even though it technically isn't part of Ottawa proper.
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