Rob Henderson
President & CEO, BioTalent Canada
Canada’s bio-economy is expanding beyond traditional industries, creating new opportunities and demand for skilled talent.
When people think about the bio-economy, they often think about healthcare, biotechnology, or research laboratories. In reality, the bio-economy reaches much further. Across Canada, businesses are transforming food waste, agricultural residues, wood fibre, and other biological resources into new products, materials, fuels, and commercial opportunities.
Turning biological resources into commercial products requires organizations that can innovate, scale production, and compete in rapidly evolving markets. It also requires people with the skills to help make that growth possible.
The organizations best positioned to grow will be those that can access the talent needed to support research, operations, production and commercialization. For many employers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, attracting that talent can be challenging.
BioTalent Canada works with employers across the bio-economy, supporting workforce strategies and providing funding to help them grow their talent pipelines. Since 2017, the organization has funded over 20,000 paid placements with over 3,200 employers. 99 per cent of those employers said that working with BioTalent Canada benefited their businesses. Those employers also identified access to students’ creativity, knowledge, and skills as the leading benefit of their participation.
Canada’s circular economy is creating new opportunities for businesses in every region of the country. The organizations that succeed will not be defined solely by the technologies they develop, but by their ability to build the workforce required to bring those innovations to market.
Work-integrated learning is one of the best ways to build your talent pipeline. Find out if your organization qualifies for BioTalent Canada funding at biotalent.ca/GrowWithWIL.
