EY opens Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence in Calgary

EY Canada has opened its sixth Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence (NCoE) with a new location in Calgary.

Originating in EY US’ Philadelphia office in 2016, the NCoE network has since expanded globally throughout EY’s member firms. The centres provide accessible environments and processes that enable EY to tap into neurodiverse talent pools and address labour shortages in technical areas including data analytics, blockchain, AI, risk, and audit. The NCoEs boast a 92% retention rate for employees.

“To drive sustainable growth, we know businesses need to continually innovate, diversify their workforce, and identify new sources of talent,” said Alison Jackson, Calgary managing partner at EY Canada. “Expanding the NCoE to Calgary allows us to access local talented, project-ready consultants who are familiar with local priorities and values in prominent energy, agriculture, technology sectors, and beyond.”

The NCoEs also provide a consulting service to help client organizations recruit, onboard, and develop a neurodiverse workforce. EY Canada’s NCoEs in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, and Vancouver have supported large companies such as the National Bank of Canada.

“We know other organizations have similar desires to expand inclusion efforts and leverage neurodiverse teams to address high-demand areas such as cybersecurity, emerging technologies, and risk management to drive innovation and productivity,” said Anthony Rjeily, digital transformation and innovation leader at EY Canada. “Through the NCoE, we’re creating supportive working environments that fuel innovation, bring a new dimension of creativity and drive greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace — both at the firm and among our clients.”

The Calgary office earlier this year opened a Finance Centre of Excellence, which offers cutting-edge internal finance services and is expected to create 200 jobs in the next three years. EY’s centres of excellence cover focus areas such as cybersecurity, robotic process automation, and manufacturing services.

“The EY Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence shows a commitment to the workforce of the future and to creating more opportunities for Albertans and for companies investing in Alberta,” said Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta. “This centre of excellence will help Alberta’s diverse workforce innovate to tackle the world’s biggest challenges.”