The rules that have guided our economy no longer apply
Did you notice that 2022 began with far fewer forecasts and outlooks than are usually seen when we put up our new annual calendars? And most of those who bravely made predictions for 2022 have already been proven wrong. The emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, just when everyone was eagerly anticipating the end…
A recent PhD grad and a mentor talk about the mutual benefits of mentorship
When the time comes to settle on a career, there’s plenty out there for University of Alberta graduates skilled in the wide-ranging field of energy: jobs in research, government, industry and startups, to name a few. But how to decide? One tried and true way is to talk to somebody who’s already out there –…
Immigration policy must build bridges and align with economic, social, education and multicultural policy
I was recently invited to share my thoughts and take a futuristic peek at the role of immigration in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invited me to speak at its annual executive leadership summit that included more than 250 decision-makers in the executive branch. My presentation spanned the unresolved immigration issues…
$2.1B in salaries and wages were generated as the result of oil and gas spending in 2017
By Ven Venkatachalam and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre A headline screamed “The end of the Oil Age” in the Economist in 2003. Fast forward 18 years and that still doesn’t make sense in many ways. The demand for oil is increasing across the globe. Even U.S. President Joe Biden is asking the Organization of…
The pandemic has taught us that life beyond the job is possible
The wage gap between men and women stubbornly persists even after adjusting for all the usual factors like education and occupation. Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey Toward Equity, a new book by Harvard professor Claudia Goldin, takes a fresh look at the issue. Goldin introduces the concept of greedy jobs. These are the jobs…
Nuclear fusion could generate millions of jobs globally
Nuclear fusion has been a science-fiction fantasy for a long time, the holy grail of energy production. But it’s rapidly moving closer to reality. The process involves combining multiple atomic nuclei to generate energy, just as the sun does. That’s the opposite of nuclear fission, in which atoms are split. Canadian and British innovators are…
Keeping a worker is easier, faster and less expensive than replacing one
Among the many challenges facing businesses today is getting and keeping enough employees. The pandemic is often blamed for the labour shortages. Many people received income maintenance payments, sometimes exceeding their previous salaries, and no longer had to work. Stopping the subsidies may or may not bring them back, although raising wages will help. Others…
Three reasons your staff might be quitting and what to do about it
A pandemic of quitting seems to be rolling across the nation. This has compounded the difficulty many organizations have faced over the past year finding and retaining good staff. Every week I hear a new story of companies losing what they thought were loyal staff and struggling to find quality replacements. There seem to be…
The program is giving 38 students tools to pursue career goals while caring for themselves
In high school, Imani Murray fell in love with the brain. Next, she set her sights on pursuing her dream career: becoming a neurosurgeon. Now a physiology student in her third year at the University of Alberta, Murray is putting her passion and studies into practice for the first time – and growing in more…
Canada's investment growth rate has dropped below that of the United States and many other developed countries
Alarm bells ought to be ringing in Canada. Business, industrial and foreign direct investment have performed pitifully over the past decade, with no reason to believe there will be a turnaround any time soon. As noted by fellow Troy Media contributor Steven Globerman of Western Washington University, “from 2010 to 2019, Canada’s investment growth rate…