Study examines the rising role of ICT in Niagara’s tech sector

MEDIA RELEASE: 4 Nov. 2019 – R00174

From cars to computers, the Niagara region is going hi-tech — so much so that the overall percentage of job increases in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is one of the highest in Ontario.

“The region has a presence in every industry within the ICT sector, and commands considerable competencies in several of them,” says new research from Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO).

The brief, titled Elusive Quest or Emerging Reality: Niagara’s ICT Innovation Cluster, paints a comprehensive picture of particular job increases and losses in Niagara’s ICT sector compared to provincial percentages.

NCO Director and policy brief author Charles Conteh, who is also an associate professor in Political Science at Brock, emphasizes that the ability to “capture, transmit, manage and display data and information” is key to economic and social resiliency and productivity.

“In the knowledge-driven economy of the twenty-first century, any region that misses the boat on the digital sector is practically stranded on a lonely island, facing the threat of economic and social stagnation or worse,” says Conteh.

The policy brief, which makes recommendations on what should be done to advance the fledgling ICT sector, will be released at a panel discussion on Thursday, Nov. 7 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Room 207 in the Cairns Complex at Brock.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

Kevin Cavanagh, Brock University Communications, kcavanagh@brocku.ca or 905-688-5550 ext. 5888 or 905 321-4310

Michelle Pressé, Brock University Communications, mpresse@brocku.ca or 905-688-5550 ext. 4420 or 905-246-1963

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