Calgary embraces new economic initiatives to adapt a global workforce
Until recently, Calgary has relied primarily upon energy production to drive the local economy. But the global economy never rests. Digital developments such as “transfer vs. shipping” and global access to resources via the internet continue to reshape the business landscape. The digital world empowers customers nearly everywhere to make their own choices. As lower energy prices and other global economic changes are projected to impact “energy producers”, Calgary is adapting. New thinking is part of Calgary’s response, which includes an economic initiative encouraging the development of new business that drives both direct and indirect employment in Calgary.
This initiative embraces the digital world, which is global and multilingual. So it is important to view translation services in Calgary as an economic driver.
Calgary Residents
With a current population of over 1.2 million, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, experiences the highest net migration rate in the nation. At JR Language Canada, our multilingual translation services are provided to employers in languages such as Tagalog, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish, as immigrants arrive seeking employment, housing, and entertainment.
Immigration to Calgary is expected to continue
Currently, immigrants comprise nearly 30% of the Calgary population. As we focus on those numbers, let’s also keep in mind the variety of languages spoken here, which are well served by Alberta translation services specializing in the Calgary region.
It reports a population of 1,381,345 and English as the mother tongue for 67.8 percent of inhabitants. French speakers make up 1.5 percent with 20,715 people. Immigrant languages make up 30.7 percent or 383,320. The top three immigrant languages in Calgary are Tagalog (Pilipino; Filipino), Punjabi (Panjabi), Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish (at 8,685 or 2.1 percent of Calgary’s population).
This influx of immigration and the diversity of languages require translation and interpreting services to adapt to the new composition of Calgary’s population.
Labor Force
Calgary’s labor force comprises over 32% women and minority immigrants. And as their population continues to grow, those arriving from abroad bring with them their own talents, needs, families, and languages. While some employment involves higher-technology and degreed employees, others are part of the manufacturing and assembly workforce. In this segment, non-English and non-French-speaking residents become part of Calgary’s business and social fabric, so language services are tools for working with a global workforce.
Focus on Employee Training
Because employees are also consumers in any region, focusing on appropriate career training helps to solidify both their income (boosting consumerism) and their employer (by preparing a workforce). Translation of documents, video training, intranet content, portals, and simple employment forms is expected as part of this process of becoming a contributing member of the community.
Full Circle
By extending the offer or providing more training through professional translation services, this inbound labor force can find a local culture ready to embrace their needs. It will be interesting to see the experiences that a business and cultural center like Calgary produces as this new initiative translates innovation into growth.
