Hidden behind the shops inside Bedford, NS’s Sunnyside Mall is RedSpace, a software company that employs some 300 people and helps millions kick back and relax.
“If you’ve watched shows, movies, sports and news on a digital device from some of the most popular streaming platforms on the market, there’s a good chance you’ve used some of RedSpace’s technology,” said founder and CEO Mike Johnston.
The business has evolved over its 22 years of operation, but one thing has remained the same: its need for more tech talent.
“You could say we’ve been shorthanded for most of the company’s life,” Johnston said.
“There’s a global shortage, and we certainly feel it, but I think it kind of provides a natural accelerator to an industry that needs to grow responsibly and aggressively.”
More than 1,300 information and communications technology companies and organizations operate in Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia is also home to more than 25,000 technology employees who work in the $2.5 billion digital sector.
“Our ability to do our jobs here and export to the world has never been stronger,” said Johnston.
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“The time is now and the future is really bright for the digital industry to really be a transformative part of our economy, and it certainly shows no signs of slowing down.”
But with most companies in all sectors switching to digital plans, it means companies like RedSpace have had to fight a war for tech talent.
“If you see talent, you have to grab that talent and you have to find a way to bring those people here,” said Luke DeWitt, RedSpace’s director of web services.
“I always joke around with my wife and other people here. We could hire 10, 15 people today and we’d probably be looking for 5-10 more tomorrow.”
Here we encode
The growth of the sector does not go unnoticed by the provincial government.
Last year, it announced a $16.8 million investment, spread across four Nova Scotia universities, to improve their computer science programs.
Dalhousie University received a little over $13 million and used some of it to launch the Here we encode campaign: an opportunity to celebrate the growth of the industry so far and identify where improvements can be made.
“The key that drives technology, the thing that really limits the growth of a technology company, is the availability of talent, it’s human capital,” said Andrew Rau-Chaplin, Dalhousie’s dean in the College of Computer Science.
“As long as we are relatively better than the next jurisdiction, we will continue to grow. And I think we’ve shown that we can.”
Rau-Chaplin said the college is now in the process of doubling its staff, adding 50 new faculty members over the next five years.
Seven years ago, Rau-Chaplin said the College of Computer Science graduated about 700 students. Today, the student body has more than tripled, with more than 2,200 students enrolled.
“And you say, ‘Wow, that’s getting pretty big,’ but the appetite for computer-savvy people is growing even faster,” he said.
“We’re at a time where the demand for IT people and the range of possibilities and the kind of lifestyles that the IT experience offers has just exploded.”
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Halifax has become one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, and has also become one of the most popular technology hubs.
“One of the reasons we are one of the fastest growing cities is technology,” Rau-Chaplin said. “If you look at it (technology) in terms of exports, I mean it could have been oil, lobsters and then just biting the tail off of those lobsters is digital.”
New recruiting opportunities
This year alone, RedSpace received over 3,000 resumes, conducted approximately 500 interviews, and hired 80 new employees.
“During COVID, there was a lot of demand… people were sitting at home, they needed something to do, TV, entertainment is a great option,” DeWitt said.
While COVID-19 has created a much busier workplace, it has also enabled new international hiring opportunities.
“It used to be the vast majority (of the staff), 90 percent or more, was here in Halifax. That has certainly been changing and will probably continue to do so,” Johnston said, adding that they now have employees in a dozen countries around the world.
“We sponsor many employees and their families who want to immigrate to Canada; we’re happy to grow the Canadian economy in that regard, but it’s a growing trend that we’re trying to find the best world-class talent anywhere. sit down and find a way to work together.”
And while importing talent is one option, he applauds the work being done in Nova Scotia to boost the industry, saying expanding an industry like digital is a “wise investment.”
“I love that there is a focus on trying to build a better, more diverse workforce. I think that aligns with the future direction of where Nova Scotia and Canada want to be,” Johnston said.
“Digital has the ability to really align and be at the forefront of that, be a change agent in those forces and I’m excited to be a part of that.”
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