The ocean economy is a space of immense opportunity.
Opportunity in growth. Opportunity in Ocean solutions. Opportunity in Ocean technologies. Opportunity in Workforce Development and Talent. Canada’s Ocean Supercluster recognizes the talent potential and diversity that will be required to champion and propel the ocean economy forward.
To address this, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster Talent Strategy promotes the establishment of a talent pool, and the accelerated development of a robust, diverse, and workforce-ready talent pipeline with a skillset that allows them to participate, scale, and lead in the ocean economy. The Talent Strategy positions the OSC as a catalyst and a hub, effectively bringing together the many established workforce spokes that exist for talent recruitment, management, training and development in the ocean and green economies to identify and support the growth of the ocean workforce.
Through Ambition 2035, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is working toward building awareness, and creating pathways, for inclusive talent development, attraction, and retention in the ocean economy. One way OSC is accomplishing this is through a youth national benchmarking report on perceptions, engagements, and intentions in the ocean sector. The “Pathways to Careers in the Ocean Industry” report, with an anticipated release in late Spring, will provide information that will fill gaps in knowledge, and will inform recommendations for solutions to growing and diversifying Canada’s ocean sector workforce.
The OSC is additionally hosting focused roundtable discussions, convening key stakeholders, and helping build partnerships to deliver projects and solutions critical to help identify gaps, build skills, and support the growth of Canadian ocean companies with the workforce they need. Learn more about Ambition 2035 next steps here.
Another step OSC has undertaken to contribute to growth in the ocean talent space is the launch of the OSC Career Hub database. This database has been developed from research and reporting on 640+ blue economy career training initiatives across Canada and aims to help find and utilize career resources in oceans. By mapping talent related initiatives, heightening their visibility, and utilizing them as building blocks for next steps, pan-Canadian connectivity is better supported, communication and collaboration are encouraged and the talent space for the ocean industry can grow and thrive. This approach leverages the voices of existing ocean economy stakeholders and ensures current programming is utilized. As an outcome, innovative ways to address talent in the ocean economy are championed.
Ongoing identification of opportunities to work cross-collaboratively are maximized through membership surveys, in-house and Canadian talent reports, and our commitment to building pan-Canadian and international relationships. By continuing to build trusting and collaborative partnerships with ocean economy stakeholders, there is a collective contribution to the vision of a workforce that is diverse and inclusive, and supports projected sectoral growth.
