Rankings Include 27 Best Cities in Canada for Next Gen Workers
MADISON, WI, July 28 /CNW/ - Today, Next Generation Consulting (NGC)
announced its "Next Cities" rankings, listing the best places to live and work
in Canada for young professionals. NGC tabulated the rankings after collecting
and analyzing 45 measures for all Canadian cities with populations of more
than 100,000 people.
NGC has studied the residential and relocation patterns of 20-40 year
olds since 1998, and has developed a one-of-a-kind indexing system that
evaluates a city based on the assets that are important to next gen workers.
According to NGC, the seven indexes of a "Next City" are: Earning, Learning,
Vitality, Around Town, After Hours, Cost of Lifestyle, and Social Capital. The
rankings announced today are based on a city's total score in all seven
indexes.
"Simply being the cheapest place to live, or the city with the most jobs
is not a long-term workforce strategy," says NGC's founder, Rebecca Ryan.
Although jobs are important, Ryan says, "The next generation is very savvy
about choosing where they'll live. They look carefully at quality of life
factors like how much time they're going to spend in traffic commuting, if
they can live near a park or hike-and-bike trail, and whether a city's
downtown stays awake after five." The Next Cities list ranks cities that are -
or have the capacity to be - great places to live and work for the next
generation, because they have the best overall score in the seven indexes the
next gen values.
Noted economist Richard Florida underscores the large economic dividend
paid to cities and regions that are talent magnets, noting in the April 2009
issue of The Atlantic that "The world's 40 largest mega-regions, which are
home to some 18% of the world's population, produce two-thirds of global
economic output and nearly nine in ten new patented innovations."
A 2006 study by the Urban Futures Institute showed that in 2022, if every
single Canadian from age 15 to age 99 was working, there would still be a
shortage of 3.9 million workers. To that point, NGC's Rebecca Ryan concluded,
"This is something every city and business leader in Canada needs to be
thinking about. Attracting and retaining talent is incredibly important,
because the demographic challenges simply aren't going to go away."CANADA'S NEXT CITIES:
1. Victoria, British Columbia
2. Ottawa, Ontario
3. Vancouver, British Columbia
4. Kingston, Ontario
5. Halifax, Nova Scotia
6. Toronto, Ontario
7. Calgary, Alberta
8. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
9. London, Ontario
10. Edmonton, Alberta
11. Winnipeg, Manitoba
12. Regina, Saskatchewan
13. Thunder Bay, Ontario
14. St. Catharines-Niagra, Ontario
15. Saint John, New Brunswick
16. Montreal, Quebec
17. Kitchener, Ontario
18. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
19. Quebec City, Quebec
20. Hamilton, Ontario
21. Sherbrooke, Quebec
22. Sudbury, Ontario
23. Oshawa, Ontario
24. Windsor, Ontario
25. Abbotsford, British Columbia
26. Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
27. Saguenay, QuebecFor more information about the Next Cities rankings, including a
description of each of the Seven Indexes and a PDF of the full report, Next
Cities 2009-2010, visit us at
http://nextgenerationconsulting.com/consulting/next-cities/
About Next Generation Consulting (NGC)
NGC has been studying the city and workplace preferences of the next
generation since 1998. NGC has assisted with the workforce development efforts
of dozens of cities and states including: Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan; Akron, OH; Canton, OH; Columbus, OH; the State of Iowa; the
State of Vermont; Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN; Brevard County, FL; Region of
Louisville, KY; Johnstown, PA; Central Texas (Belton, Copperas Cove, Killeen
and Temple, TX); and Wichita, KS.CONTACT: Kevin Smothers
1-888-922-9596, ext. 710
ks@nextgenerationconsulting.com
For further information: Kevin Smothers of Next Generation Consulting,
1-888-922-9596, ext. 710, ks@nextgenerationconsulting.com, Web Site:
http://nextgenerationconsulting.com/consulting/next-cities/
