I live in and love Cleveland — a once-great city that was part of the “silicon valley” of the late-18th/early-19th century industrial revolution.
Having just returned from Vancouver and Seattle, I reflected on what it takes for cities to be competitive, prosperous and vibrant in the 21st century.
100 years ago, the… rust belt cities of Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh led the world in industrial patents and the creation of game-changing companies. This is the land of Carnegie, Ford, Rockefeller, Firestone, Dow, and many other entrepreneurs who helped change the world.
Immigrants played a key role in the economic success of the Great Lakes region at the dawn of the 20th century.
Cities like Cleveland attracted folks from all over the world at that time —- 30% of the 1,000,000 population was foreign-born. Today, only about 5% of Cleveland’s population comes from abroad —- and the overall population has dropped below 400,000.
The exodus of people has been accompanied by a decline in innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. Not good timing, as countries like China and India move-up on the value chain of a knowledge-based economy — in countries where acquisition of advanced education is a contact sport. (Only 6% of Greater Cleveland’s population holds an advanced degree, 5% in Detroit, and 20% in Seattle.)
The rust belt region needs to reboot.
To create its New Economy, it will need an army of entrepreneurs and innovators, ready to compete globally.
The only way to quickly build this army is by recruiting and attracting American migrants and immigrants. The low hanging fruit is to attract immigrants—- to lay out the welcome mat for those who are predisposed to pick-up and move, to take risks, and to endure the pain inherent in the pursuit of opportunity in the challenging frontier.
Back to Canada.
In Vancouver, 40% of the population is foreign born.
Toronto, a five hour drive from Cleveland, is similarly immigrant-rch, with over 50% of its population born abroad.
To offer just a peek at how Canada does such a good job at the federal and local level to encourage and welcome immigrant newcomers, check this out.
The Hamilton Chamber of Commrece in Ontario, Canada, is leading an new exciting initiative called “Diversity Works” — a program that is designed to:
a.) increase the capacity of local companies to recruit and hire foreign born talent
b.) mentor immigrant entrepreneurs
As reported in this article, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president Richard Koroscil said recently:
“‘It’s a well-known fact that in coming years Hamilton will be seeing a shortage of skilled workers and we’re going to rely on immigration to fill those gaps,’” he said.
Studies by agencies such as the Conference Board of Canada support that view of the future, warning at current birth and retirement rates, by 2030 Canada will not be able to fill 500,000 jobs.
In the closer future, by 2017 it’s expected the majority of new jobs in Canada will be filled by immigrants.Ontario Citizenship Minister Eric Hoskins said those forces create a special challenge for Ontario.
“Immigration and the highly skilled workforce that will develop because of that is an economic imperative,” he said. “We can’t allow the challenges of integrating newcomers to stop us.”
The Diversity Works program is designed to help this problem in two ways.
One stream will provide recruitment and human resources support to employers, especially small businesses, looking to hire skilled immigrants. It’s hoped 200 local firms will benefit from that help.
The second stream will link newcomer entrepreneurs with Canadian mentors who will help them get started.The program will launch at the end of this month with 15 mentor-mentee pairs, including Kaleu and area businessman James Radcliffe, of SCS Machine Services. It’s a match Kaleu hopes will give him a chance to start manufacturing his ecological tools by linking his company name with an established player.
Diversity Works is financed by the federal and provincial governments. Other sponsors include Settlement and Integration Services Organization, Mohawk College, McMaster University’s DeGroote business school, the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, the city, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, Volunteer Hamilton, the Hamilton Training Advisory Board and Scotiabank Group.
The initiative is one part of a broader Hamilton Immigration Strategy and Action Plan aimed at helping newcomers fit in to their new country by strengthening settlement services, employment aid, encouraging foreign credential recognition and other aid.”
Canada has done a great job in averting much of most serious fall-out from the global financial crisis. It has done a similarly great job in promoting a welcoming culture for immigrant talent (60% of the 250,000 Canadian “green cards” issued each year go to skilled immigrants; compare that with the U.S. where less than 15% of the 1,000,000 green cards issued each year are reserved for skilled immigrants).
Despite the popular phrase heard in Canada, “No Worries,” its clear that Canada has been worrying and working hard to build an infrastructure that emphasizes TALENT, regardless of accent or passport, as the key to success in in the global economy.
I hope that the lessons from our neighbors to the North will not be lost on the rust belt and the White House.