EY Canada Opens New Robotic Process Automation Centre in Halifax
Often times when people think of Canadian tech hubs, they go straight to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. But now the east coast is getting some love too.
EY Canada has announced they are opening their first Global Centre of Excellence for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Service in Halifax, the first of its kind in Canada.
The new centre will house data scientist, app developers, system architects and more, all with a very close focus on RPA. RPA allows employees in a company to configure software or a “robot” to obtain and analyze existing applications for a number of uses, including processing transactions, manipulating data, communicating with other systems and more.
“Halifax has a wealth of talent and expertise to offer the Canadian business community,” said John Munro, EY Canada IT Advisory partner in Halifax. “The Centre is an important step in ensuring the prosperity and future growth of the city and the Atlantic region as a tech hot spot.”
Halifax was chosen for a number of reasons, as it boasts a well-educated and diverse talent pool, quick transportation links to other tech hubs in North America, and the low cost of living—especially compared to the likes of Toronto, Vancouver, New York City or San Francisco.
“What’s perhaps most exciting is the potential to recruit, develop and retain top talent in the region,” said Munro. “We’re focused on creating opportunities for STEM graduates from leading schools that all Canadian businesses can benefit from instead of outsourcing abroad.”
The new Halifax EY centre was awarded $2.4 million in payroll rebates from the Nova Scotia provincial government early this year, contingent on the centre creating a total of 150 new jobs. Under the maximum growth forecast for the new centre, EY will spend $34,650,000 on salaries over the next five years.
EY has several Centres of Excellence spread around the world, specializing in every sort of industry. In Early 2016, EY launched several new centres in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on cybersecurity, analytics, and manufacturing.
“The EY Centre of Excellence model is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting clients facing complex issues stemming from widespread digital change,” says Jad Shimaly, EY Canada Advisory Services Managing Partner. “Halifax is turning heads as a hub for talent and innovation—and the Centre will continue to fuel this evolution in the Atlantic region.”
The new centre is located at the EY Halifax office and will more than double the company’s employee footprint in the city.
