As Canada continues to brace itself for the changes being made in order to prevent COVID-19’s proliferation, the business community is already starting to feel its ripple effect. Job losses are an unfortunate and inevitable piece of collateral damage due to companies trimming down, temporarily closing doors, and even shutting down.
Tackling this, a few entrepreneurs in Toronto’s tech industry are looking to support the community by creating a centralized database where those who have lost jobs as a result of COVID-19 can be linked up with companies who are actively looking to hire new talent. Posted to StartUp North, a peer-to-peer forum that connects Canada’s tech community together, Marianne Bulger (co-founder; Prospect), Adam Bercovici (founder; Luminari), and Adam Gellert (founder, HiredHippo) created the list as a way to help their contemporaries.
“[It] was created… to strengthen the fabric of our startup sector during what can only be described as an unprecedented moment in human history,” says Bulger. “We’ve seen these lists before, but it usually follows the layoff of employees from a single company. If it can work on that scale, why not build it on a larger scale altogether, for our country.”
According to Bulger, the StartUp North Talent Help List can be used in three different ways:
If you are currently out of work and looking for a job in Canada’s tech industry, you can add your profile to the database.
If you are an employer and laying off workers, you can direct them to the database as a resource.
If you are hiring, you can leverage the database for active candidates.
“There is no rulebook for this type of economic and social uncertainty. All we can do is remain present and pay attention to the gaps,” Bulger continues. “We may be alone in our homes, but in many ways, technology has brought us closer together than we have ever been. If you ever wanted to demonstrate the power of technology to change the world for the better, the moment is now.”
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