Why Whitby for Information & Communication Technology?

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) companies choose to locate and expand in Whitby. Select one of the links below to learn why Whitby is their Community of Choice:

• Skilled Labour Force
• World-Class Education and Training
• Competitive Business Costs
• Access to High-Speed Broadband
• Convenient Transportation Links
• Superior Quality of Life to Attract and Retain Talent.

Skilled Labour Force

Whitby is in Durham Region, which spans both the Toronto and Oshawa Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), and includes about 60% of the labour force employed in ICT occupations in Ontario. Since Whitby's labour shed extends beyond Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), much of the ICT labour force is within range. Whitby's resident labour force in the ICT sector greatly exceeds the jobs available. This presents an opportunity to employers, as wage expectations may be more reasonable for workers wishing to work closer to home.

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World-Class Education and Training

Employers in the ICT sector can access world-class education institutions that ensure a supply of talent:

1. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is a market-oriented, educational institution that offers the following ICT programs:
• Master of Information Technology Security (MITS) degree
• Bachelor of Information Technology in Game Development and Entrepreneurship (the business of developing game technology)
  
  
  Current UOIT research projects and facilities in the ICT sector include:
• Biometrics - development of a biometric authentication system to allow online government agencies, financial/ commercial services to exchange user authentication and authorization data
• Health Informatics - project partners include IBM, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and international partners. The project aims to revolutionize critical care through information technology
• IT Security - projects with Defence Research and Development Canada to design and test security solutions for wireless devices
• Stereoscopic 3D Gaming - project leadership of Interactive Gaming Ontario 3D (iGO3D) which brings together the expertise of five universities, one college and a wide range of gaming industry partners to drive the growth of Ontario's digital media content industry
• Serious Gaming in Health Care - for the training of community health nurses, critical care providers and orthopaedic surgeons
• Network Reliability - methods for designing reliable wired and wireless communication infrastructure, tactical mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), multicast services and smart grids, design strategies for improving network failure recovery are some of the key research areas
• Gaming and Virtual Reality Research Laboratory - includes state-of-the art workstations, a full body motion capture system, a laser scanner and a passive stereo Virtual Reality display.
• Hacker Research Laboratory - equipped with state-of-the art network devices such as servers, clients, firewalls and routers.
2. Durham College offers a range of market-driven programs relevant for the ICT sector, including:
• Diploma in Game Development
• Diploma in Multi-media Design
• Digital Photography (2-year program)
• Digital Video Production (2-year program)
• Fine Arts Advanced (3-year program)
• VFX and Digital Cinema (graduate certificate program)
• Web Applications for Mobile Computing (graduate certificate program, beginning in September 2012)
  
  Current Durham College research in the ICT sector includes:
• Research agreement with Yowza Digital Inc., a Toronto-based digital media company that will see the creation of a new trans-media production process. Students are developing short, animated segments that serve as a bridge between full-length programming with financial support from the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII).
• Development of a visual radio property that will offer contemporary media experiences to students in marketing communications, advertising, music business, journalism and many other areas of study.
• Collaboration with industry partners to bring exceptional creative products to market, including two series of animated shorts about science and the arts that will be distributed to elementary schools across North America.

Other Sources of Talent

Over 30 university and college campuses are within a one hour drive of Whitby, many of which offer programs in Information and Communications Technologies.

Click on the image below to open and/or print the map.

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Competitive Business Costs

Business costs are lower than most U.S. centres and key competitors. The biggest cost savings include skilled labour; land prices and lease rates; and taxes.

1. Skilled Labour Costs

In KPMG's 2012 survey, The Competitive Alternatives, Canada was ranked the second most cost-effective location among nine established industrial countries studied.  Of the G7 countries, Canada had the lowest total labour costs:

• Total costs per employee are lowest in the United Kingdom, Canada and Italy.  This result reflects in part the weakness of the euro and the British pound.  
• 9% advantage over the U.S.

2. Land Prices and Lease Rates

Whitby's industrial land prices and lease rates are lower than western/northern areas of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

3. Taxes

Corporate income tax rates (provincial and federal combined) are lower than any U.S. state, Japan or France. Both the federal and Ontario governments have taken steps to reduce corporate income taxes.  Capital taxes were eliminated on July 1, 2010.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Revenue and Canada Revenue Agency

The 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), introduced in Ontario on July 1, 2010, replaces the federal goods and services tax (GST) and the Provincial Sales Tax (PST). The HST provides tax credits for sales tax paid on many inputs and capital investments, reduces tax compliance costs and taxes that would otherwise have been included in supplier prices.

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Access to High-Speed Broadband

Whitby has numerous wireless and wireline providers including Bell, Rogers and several satellite services providers.

The Eastern Ontario Regional Network partners of Bell Canada and Bell Aliant will be upgrading the equipment at 12 existing Points Of Presence (POP's) within Durham to facilitate the expansion to the 100 Gigabit capability, primarily along the 401 corridor from Pickering to Newcastle.

The project includes the installation of a new fibre backbone between Whitby to Bowmanville, which will allow for an OME Photonic Ring around the core urban area of Durham. This Photonic Ring provides a disaster recovery situation. If the fibre is cut in a single location within the Ring, reverse traffic ensures that the data still reaches its destination.

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Convenient Transportation to access Canadian, U.S. and International Markets

Whitby is located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Key features of Whitby's transportation infrastructure are:

• GO Transit, a commuter train linking Downtown Toronto with surrounding regions, frequent service to/from Whitby
• Less than a one-hour drive to Toronto's Pearson International Airport
• Less than a one-hour drive to Toronto Island Airport with service to many Canadian and U.S. cities
• The Oshawa Municipal Airport supports regional and charter flights within Canada and to the U.S. Canada Customs services are available. 
• VIA Rail passenger train service connects to cities across Canada and to Amtrak in the U.S.

Links to Canadian, U.S. and international markets

Click on the image below to open and/or print the map.

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Superior Quality of Life to Attract and Retain Talent

Whitby and Durham Region offer a superior quality of life to attract and retain talent including:

• 30 minutes from home to the waterfront or from the office to the trails
  (skiing, hiking, snowmobiling)
• Family-friendly with extensive sports facilities
• One hour to reach Downtown Toronto with theatres, restaurants
• GO commuter trains arrive in Whitby approximately every half hour during peak travel times, from Downtown Toronto Union Station
• Less than one hour to reach airports with access to the U.S. and international destinations.
• Toronto's Pearson International Airport
• Toronto's Island Airport - convenient access from GO commuter service.
• More affordable. Whitby had the lowest median home sale price when compared to GTA communities to the west and north. On average, detached housing prices in Whitby are 35%-50% lower when compared to neighbouring communities to the north and west.  Source: Toronto Real Estate Board Market Watch, May, 2012.
• Less traffic and congestion than in other areas in the GTA.

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