Across the country and in almost every economic sector, Canadian companies face a skills shortage. One of the greatest opportunities to meet those impending needs can be found in Canada’s fast-growing Indigenous population. Over the next decade, 750,000 Indigenous youth will enter the Canadian workforce—a cohort that’s growing four times faster than the non-Indigenous population. But to ensure that these youth can assume the leadership roles of tomorrow, investments need to be made to develop their digital skills—and provide them access to the necessary tools and infrastructure. In this episode of Disruptors, an RBC podcast, guest host Trinh Theresa Do speaks with two community leaders who are helping to make this happen: Jarret Leaman, the founder of the Toronto-based Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology; and Benjamin Scott, the project director for Yellowknife-based EntrepreNorth. While the specific challenges faced by these two organizations vary, Jarret and Benjamin are united by one common vision: to bridge the digital divide within their communities—and position Indigenous youth for future success.
To learn more about the Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology, click here. And to find out more about EntrepreNorth, follow this link. (The work of EntrepreNorth is supported, in part, by the RBC Foundation.)
In his segment, Jarret referenced a photo series he was a part of titled “Concrete Indians”; to see the photos, check out his website. Benjamin, in his segment, mentioned a new podcast that EntrepreNorth has launched called Venture Out. You can listen to it here or wherever you get your podcasts.
The report referenced from the RBC Economics and Thought Leadership Team— Building Bandwidth: Preparing Indigenous youth for a digital future—will be made available at thoughtleadership.rbc.com