Fixing BC’s leaky talent funnel
Growth hacking our way to a stronger talent pool (or why co-ops don't go far enough)
Startups care a lot about their funnel, turning visitors into leads into customers. Fixing areas where people leak out of the funnel is critical to their success.
Places have funnels too. Most importantly, they have a talent funnel. It is how smart young people go from high school to university to the work world. A leak in this funnel (AKA brain drain) can dramatically impact the success of that place.
Unfortunately for BC, its talent funnel of smart young people is leaky. Fortunately, I think it’s fixable (and here’s how I suggest we do it).
The origin of our talent funnel
The beginning of BC’s funnel is as strong as anywhere. High schools churn out smart young people. UBC is a world-class university and others in BC are solid in their own right. Whatever amount of people we lose to other places for university, we make up by attracting people to come to university here.
As good as universities are, they are also where our the leak begins. A key part of a funnel is “converting” people from one step to the next. As much as universities want you to think you’re there to “become an educated, well-rounded citizen,” most people are there for one thing: a job.
This disconnect between universities and the reality of the work world creates a leak when smart young people go to make that jump.
How we try to fix this leak now
Internships and co-ops are the best way for university students to connect to the real world. They provide many benefits:
Real-world experience. What they teach you in the classroom is a lot different than what is useful in real life.
Connections with employers. Guess who makes the hiring decision? Proving yourself with real work gives you a lot better chance of getting hired than someone with just a resume.
Connections with peers. Referrals are a critical part of the flow of talent. Having peers who can refer you (and that you can refer) helps the best talent flow to the right places.
For example, I worked a co-op at a very large company. They paid well, had good people working on interesting problems, and provided opportunities for career advancement. Although I didn’t pursue it, my time and connections there could have easily led to a full-time job. I know this is exactly the situation many of my classmates who did co-ops ended up in.
BC already does a lot to promote the co-op program. There are over 10,000 annual placements. On top of wage subsidies “of up to 50% of a student’s salary (up to $5,000) or 70% (up to $7,000) for underrepresented students,” the provincial government spends millions just promoting the program.
The co-op program does a lot, but it doesn’t go far enough.
The elite talent problem
There is a group of students who don’t have many opportunities. They are content with whatever opportunity they can get. During university, I place myself squarely in this category.
There is another group who do have many opportunities. These are the most smart, talented, and driven. Any place would benefit massively from these people, as they are the next generation of elite talent.
This elite talent is looking for elite opportunities. Simply, BC does not provide enough of these elite co-ops and internships. They must look elsewhere, places like Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. This causes a major problem that looks like this:
Elite talent does their co-ops and internships elsewhere.
As a result of their internships, their network, both with employers and peers, in elsewhere becomes better elsewhere it is here. You would be shocked by the number of smart young BCers with better networks in San Francisco than Vancouver.
They move where their network is after university, away from BC.
Before we even have a chance to compete, we have lost.
Fixing our leaky funnel
Common pushback for fixing the brain drain in BC is just that we can’t compete. Other places have unlimited money, VC-subsidized dinners, impossible to match salaries, and huge amounts of hype.
Luckily for us, creativity and work always provide a chance to win. We must figure out and implement creative ways to fix the funnel (some of which are already happening). Examples include:
Connect smart young people here
We underestimate the impact connection with peers can have on our lives. Being surrounded by the right people can make all the difference. The right people exist here, we just aren’t doing a good enough job connecting them.
Two of the most important efforts making this happen in Vancouver are Novus and Atelier. Both are communities built around connecting builders working on cool projects and startups. People who would look elsewhere for these connections and inspiration can now find it here.
When I was in university, neither of these existed. Looking back on it, this is exactly what I was looking for, but couldn’t find. Continuing to promote and support groups and events that connect smart young people builds their roots here and helps them succeed here.
We have good companies too
We do have companies at the innovation frontier for key industries. The problem is mostly one of information:
Smart young people don’t know about these companies, let alone have connections to them.
These companies are mostly heads down working. Their market isn’t here, you don’t hear about them and they don’t engage the community.
I don’t blame companies for not having co-op or internships. It is a lot of work and is not the most important factor to help them succeed. Yet, the places we are competing with do have similar companies running co-op and internship programs, proof that it is more of a cultural issue.
We need to help smart young people learn about the companies of the future. We also need to encourage and celebrate the companies of the future that support the next generation of talent.
As an example of what amazing looks like, Shopify is hiring 1000 interns in 2025. It is this level of company with this level of ambition that makes waves.
Elite talent concierge
All universities have administrators who manage the co-op program. They council and support students applying for positions, they engage employers to create positions, and they check in during the term to make sure “education” is happening.
What if we created one of these roles, purely for the elite talent and employers? They are responsible for a much smaller list of students and companies. They help get the best students in the best opportunities. They encourage them and their ambitions.
In this way, we have a better chance of showing elite talent they do have a future here.
Slowing the leak
You can’t ever stop brain drain. Even if BC was the best place in the world, people would always find reasons to leave. You can’t force people to stay here.
Instead, we should aim to have people want to stay here. We need them to truly believe they can have a future here.
In a way, this starts by supporting them at the earliest stage of their career journey. Co-ops and internships are a critical part of the talent funnel, we must take them seriously.
I see a lot of my fellow Canadians leaving Montreal and Toronto for bigger/better opportunities elsewhere. Assuming that there's a lot of that in BC too. Hopefully, this can be fixed, as there is so much good talent all over this country