The successful acceleration of Canada’s Blue Economy relies on the availability of a skilled and experienced workforce. The value that seasoned workers can contribute to an industry cannot be overstated, and this is a topic that many employers in the region can relate to. Many efforts have focused on building the workforce pipeline with young talent in entry-level roles, but there is a strong demand for older, skilled, and experienced workers that is not being met.

On January 13th, from 1-2 pm, we are joined by senior leaders in industry and academia to discuss how the ocean sector can attract and retain experienced talent. The panel, led by Vice Admiral Jim King CMM, CD, RCN (Retired) (President, CFN Consultants (Atlantic) Inc.), with Tracey Laurence (ret’d Vice President Information Technology at Rogers Communications), Cdr Helga Budden (Commanding Officer Canadian Armed Forces Transition Unit Nova Scotia/Newfoundland and Labrador), Rick Emberly (Founder, BoomersPlus), and Jamie Sangster (CEO, LeeWay Marine), will discuss how to keep mature talent involved in our ocean industries, or to entice them to transition from other industries with transferable and high-demand skills.

About Changing Tides:

Changing Tides: Discussing diversity in the ocean industry is a panel discussion series addressing underrepresented workers in the blue economy.

Each month, we will be speaking with leaders in the ocean economy on the following topics, supporting the advancement of African Canadians in ocean tech, encouraging economic growth for Indigenous-owned companies, making space for women, scoping and retaining skilled immigrants and international student graduates, and shifting gears mid-career.