Mphasis secures $7M from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund to accelerate talent development and attraction

The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) announced that it’s providing up to $7 million over four years to IT provider Mphasis to attract intermediate and senior-level tech talent to Calgary.

The investment is meant to expand Calgary’s talent pipeline by helping to recruit up to 560 new technology and professional workers. In addition, the funds will support the development of future talent by creating work-integrated learning opportunities for up to 100 students.

As Calgary’s tech sector continues to grow, companies are struggling to fill available roles. As recently as this past June, Patrick Mattern, vice president of business development with Calgary Economic Development (CED), said there were 2,500 unfilled tech positions in the city.

“Calgary is a thriving tech innovation hub, and at Mphasis we are committed to growing and creating a competitive workforce here,” said Nitin Rakesh, CEO and managing director at Mphasis. Rakesh was in town earlier this year when Mphasis, which specializes in cloud and cognitive services, opened a North American delivery centre in downtown Calgary in June. At the time, the company said it planned to create 1,000 local jobs. Mphasis’ Alberta business unit is currently led by Nitin Sathawane, a nine-year veteran of the company and former executive with Infosys.

“Talent attraction is a global competition and OCIF’s support of Mphasis demonstrates we are a city making the impactful investments necessary to expand our skilled workforce, drive future economic growth and accelerate the momentum in our innovation ecosystem,” said Brad Parry, president and CEO of CED and CEO of OCIF.

An additional goal of the investment is to support the city’s downtown core as a hub of innovation where large companies and startups across industries collaborate and grow together. “OCIF’s investment into Mphasis to expand Calgary’s talent pipeline shows the world we have an ambitious, collaborative, business-friendly environment that supports the growth of innovative companies in the heart of our city,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek in a statement. Gondek serves on OCIF’s board.

OCIF is a $100-million initiative launched by the City of Calgary in 2018 to support investments to diversify and transform Calgary's economy. To date, it has allocated more than $75 million to 24 projects.