The internet and innovations like cloud storage have enabled companies to source technical services in other countries where wages for well-educated and highly trained professionals are much lower than in Alberta, according to Labuhn.
Canadians might be shocked at the type of jobs being automated or outsourced offshore, according to Professor Ramanan Krishnamoori, chief energy officer for the University of Houston.
“In many of the energy companies we’re starting to see the number of lawyers dropping significantly because you’re starting to see law jobs outsourced to countries like India,” he told Energi Media. “Human resources, economic modelling, back-office operations, etc.”