Calgary continues push to attract Vancouver workers
Posted Nov 20, 2018 10:23 pm.
Last Updated Nov 21, 2018 5:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Calgary continues to try and sell itself to Vancouverites.
Weeks after Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was in the city trying to lure tech-savvy workers, new ads targeting engineers and geoscientists have appeared in the City Hall SkyTrain station.
Robyn Bews, VP of Business Development for Calgary Economic Development, which is behind the ad, says it’s part of a $1.2 million campaign to attract workers from major cities in Canada and the U.S.
“Probably like everybody else, our focus is on big cities that have, you know, big, explosive tech sectors,” says Bews.
“And if you look at the cities that we’re interested in and talking to, or talking to the talent in, they are cities that are quite expensive to live in.”
And it appears their campaign is working in Vancouver. Since Nenshi’s visit at the end of October, a number of people in Vancouver have accepted a job in Calgary.
“We’ve had a number of job offers that have already been made and my understanding is that there’s a number of people moving to Calgary as a result of that,” says Bews.
“We’re tracking at about four or five that have been hired directly from that trip in the past two weeks.”
Watch: Calgary Needs Tech-Savvy Youth
Bews says people in other major cities have also expressed interest in making the move.
“They’re interested in the cost of living and the fact that they can move here and put a little extra cash in their jeans and continue to have a great lifestyle.”
The campaign started in the fall.
