Creative Edge for Ontario

The day after I published my Sustainable Ontario post, Richard Florida and Roger Martin announced their report "Ontario in the Creative Age". While definitely being a step in the right direction, the report is not overly-ambitious and actionable. Some excerpts:

"Currently, in Ontario, 30 percent of our jobs are creativity-oriented, and they account for nearly half (47 percent) of all our wages. ...To realize a competitive advantage for Ontario and ensure broad prosperity for all Ontarians, the province should strive to have more than 50 percent of its employment in creativity-oriented jobs by 2030."

It can be easily done much faster (5-7 years instead of 21) in major areas: Greater Toronto, Greater Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo using existing human capital provided that provincial and federal governments a) grant appropriate incentives to the biomedical and telecommunication companies and b) create new scientific centers and facilities. These measures employ temporarily a lot of currently laid-off workers on construction and create a lot of knowledge-based jobs in the long run.

"To meet the need that 70 percent of new jobs require post secondary eduction, we must aim to have a 60 percent participation rate among our 18 to 24 year olds. ... About 40 percent of our 18 to 24 year olds are currently in post secondary education. We expect this will reach 50 percent in the next twenty years based on the current momentum."

Our 18 to 24 year olds (as well as all other human beings) are very responsive to incentives. If a researcher in the University of Toronto with PhD earns $45,000 a year and struggles to resume a contract every single year, it is very appealing to find a routine-based job in unionized environment starting from $50,000 and do not waste any time (and money) in colleges and universities. The message is clear- we need to change this perception first. And it cannot be done without government intervention.

The bottom line is... It is only the government that can change the HR landscape in Ontario. By shifting its support and subsidies from companies with routine-oriented jobs to creative-oriented ones (it actually can be the same company, e.g. GM) and creating additional workplaces in publicly-funded research and education the government will send a strong message to business community and population, which are very susceptible to incentives. And it is the only way to our prosperity.