RBC announces new Innovation Tech Hub in Calgary | Calgary Herald

“RBC is a global brand, and they have an amazing tech team that works on global challenges. So for them to acknowledge that Calgary is a hub . . . really helps solidify the positioning that we’ve been talking about for so long, that Calgary is a place where you should come and set up shop.”

RBC is also looking to help grow the city’s future generation of tech workers by pursuing partnerships with companies and institutions. The company has already started conversations around potential work-integrated learning programs with SAIT and Mount Royal, Boyd said.

“How do you cultivate these kinds of programs that create the skills and capabilities in individuals that will be important for these roles?” he said. “Those are the kinds of partnerships where we can work collaboratively together to help continue to build the technology ecosystem.”

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Creating such an ecosystem could help foster more interest in tech sectors, especially while skilled labour shortages remain a concern. CBRE’s report noted the total number of computer engineering degrees being completed in Calgary sat at 298, up 63 per cent between 2015-19, but “other tech engineering” degrees fell by 10 per cent during that time.

Calgary Economic Development is also working on work-integrated programs in partnership with post-secondary institutions and tech companies, Parry said, with details to come.

“We believe everybody in our education system should have an opportunity to do hands-on learning, and we’ve built out this plan to build a platform that will allow companies to more easily access students that are wanting to get that experience,” he said. “RBC, in making that commitment to work-integrated learning, is huge.”