Opinion: Why talent is the stability global investors are seeking

Written by Mike Hurley, chair of the Metro Vancouver Boards of Directors and mayor of the City of Burnaby.

As global markets lurch into 2026, one theme is emerging across investment conversations: volatility is the new normal. More than ever before, geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological change, and shifting trade relationships are causing companies to reconsider how and where they choose to invest. In this environment, the most competitive regions are not the ones offering the lowest costs or the loudest incentives — but the ones offering the most stability.

While capital and market access still matter, one factor is growing in influence: confidence in a region’s workforce. Today, talent provides something increasingly rare: predictability in an unprecedented time. Talent anchors investment. It lowers risk. It allows firms to plan beyond a single business cycle and commit capital with confidence. For investors, that stability is often more valuable than short-term cost advantages.

We’ve seen this play out repeatedly in the Metro Vancouver region. Invest Vancouver’s research shows that tech companies choose our region primarily because of our talent pool. Companies in other sectors cite talent alongside other factors such as market access or customer proximity, but in nearly every case, workforce capability is foundational.

Microsoft is a good example. The company decided to establish and expand its engineering operations in the Metro Vancouver region principally because of talent. Initially drawn to this region’s expertise in gaming, animation, and special effects, it stayed and expanded as the region continued to produce and attract world-class tech talent.

Over the past 15 years, intentional investment in local talent development and international recruitment have expanded the region’s capabilities. Universities have adapted to meet market demands, fueling a growing stream of skilled workers across the tech ecosystem. This is exactly what investors are looking for: not just talent today, but a system that is prepared to support growth tomorrow.

When companies evaluate the Metro Vancouver region, they are not just asking whether talent exists today. They are asking whether the region is prepared to support growth tomorrow. Can we hire at scale? Can skills evolve as our technology evolves? Can the local ecosystem support us beyond year one? These questions are at the heart of investment readiness. It is becoming increasingly clear that talent is not just about training programs. Rather, it is about economic competitiveness.

Indeed, as we look further into 2026, one trend is becoming unavoidable: traditional, linear approaches to skills development are struggling to keep pace with economic change. This is why Invest Vancouver launched Invest Talent, a skills‑first, employer‑led platform that connects companies, post‑secondary institutions, and workforce organizations to co‑design training that meets today’s business needs and tomorrow’s growth opportunities.

Employer-driven models—where businesses help define skills, co-design pathways, and integrate learning into real work—are emerging globally as a competitiveness tool. Not because they are ideological, but because they are practical. From an investment perspective, these models shorten time to productivity, improve retention and scalability, and signal alignment between employers, institutions, and the broader ecosystem.

This is not workforce development for its own sake. It is cluster development and investment enablement, the kind of work that allows regions to convert interest into long-term economic presence. Strong talent ecosystems don’t just fill jobs, rather they fuel the ideas, processes, and technologies that shape long-term value creation, and form the basis of innovative and resilient regions.

This is not a partisan discussion; it’s a strategic necessity. Regions that treat talent as economic infrastructure and align employers, education, and investment attraction around that reality, will continue to outperform. Because talent is not adjacent to investment strategy. It is central to it.