When Zachary Novak wrote a LinkedIn post in December 2020, he didn’t expect it to change the course of his career.
At the time, Novak had recently left investment banking and was a director of product at a local startup. He posted about how he once believed Calgary lacked tech opportunities but had since changed his mind.
He listed new developments in the city’s tech sector and ended with an invitation: “If you want some support, message me.”
The post quickly went viral. More than 150 people reached out, asking for support and advice. Novak met with 18 of them in one day.
That surge of interest revealed something bigger than a career pivot. It exposed a gap in how Canada’s tech ecosystem connects people to opportunity, especially those who are new, overlooked, or navigating career change.
As Novak tried to keep up with the demand for advice and introductions, he began organizing group calls and discussion sessions. By early 2021, these informal meetups had evolved into a community. By 2022, they became a business.
Today, Careers in Technology and Innovation (CITI) is helping hundreds of people find their way into Canada’s tech sector.
For leaders working to grow talent and strengthen innovation ecosystems, Novak’s experience shows where current systems fall short and where community-led efforts are stepping in to fill the gap.
Building a new kind of tech community
CITI started as a way to share knowledge during the pandemic. Each week, Novak hosted virtual meetups with others exploring tech roles or looking to grow their careers, where they had conversations ranging from industry trends to interview strategies.
“We were just meeting on Wednesdays, and we were talking about different topics. It was a way to bring people together during COVID to support them,” says Novak.
The consistency paid off.
Participants started landing roles. Some got promotions. Many returned to offer support to the next wave of job seekers. Over time, Novak saw a need for something more formal. By late 2022, CITI launched as a subscription-based community offering events, advisors, programs and resources..
Novak says CITI doesn’t operate as a recruiter. Instead, its model focuses on connection and skill-building, not job transactions. It aims to help members find the right fit, and not just fall into any role.
“Everything we’re trying to do is about expanding the ecosystem, instead of transacting,” says Novak.
More than 60% of CITI’s members are newcomers to Canada, and Novak believes the hiring system often works against them.
“If I’m employing someone, I want to employ someone with the least amount of risk, because I have to invest in them,” he says. “The fact that you’re from another country just makes you more risky. So how do you de-risk yourself?”
For CITI, that means helping members build more than just technical skills. It means helping them understand how companies work, how decisions are made, and how to show alignment with team culture and values.
“We do think that diversity is our strength,” says Novak. “Our mission is to support diverse professionals to grow meaningful careers in tech.”
The hidden hiring gap in Canadian tech
Canada’s tech workforce continues to grow. As of January 2025, the sector added more than 22,000 jobs according to Statistics Canada. Yet most employers still say they can’t find the right candidates. A Robert Half survey found that 92% of Canadian tech hiring managers struggle to fill roles.
This isn’t a skills disconnect. It’s about access, networks, and the informal signals that still shape hiring decisions. This is where Novak believes CITI plays a critical role.
“If you don’t know what companies are looking for, it’s easy to get discouraged,” he says. “But if you can build the right habits and relationships, you start to see how the system works.”
CITI offers advising sessions, workshops on Canadian workplace culture, and connections to local tech companies. But its biggest value might be the community itself. Weekly check-ins start with “small wins,” which is a moment to reflect, celebrate progress, and build emotional resilience.
“We want to get them to a sense of self-understanding, calm, confidence,” says Novak. “And just overlay all our decisions with that.”
How the work continues
What started as a handful of conversations has grown into something more organized, more intentional, and more revealing. As CITI grows, Novak says people are actively seeking new ways to navigate careers, build networks, and feel seen in the tech industry. And they’re finding that in each other.
CITI has grown to more than 350 active members and helped over 400 professionals find roles in tech. In 2024 alone, the group hosted 221 private events across Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Toronto. It also launched a partnership with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) to give students early access to industry connections and coaching.
Novak says the next step is to strengthen local chapters and build an employer partner network.
“At its core, we are trying to help people do their best work,” says Novak. “It’s a combination of helping professionals grow their careers in tech and working with companies to build inclusive and high-performing teams.”
As Canada works to retain global talent and scale its innovation economy, communities like CITI are becoming part of the infrastructure. Not formal training centres. Not recruiting firms. But something in between.
These are peer-led, purpose-driven networks that show how innovation really happens, and that’s through people, over time, one conversation at a time.
Final shots
- Canada’s innovation economy won’t scale on skills alone. Employers need new ways to see and support talent, especially those outside traditional pipelines.
- Peer-led communities like CITI are filling the trust gap in hiring by building what formal institutions often overlook: human connection.
- Formal pathways aren’t always enough. The tech sector is increasingly shaped by informal communities that offer belonging, context, and momentum.
