Speaker Profile: Andrew Ramlo

Demographer, Urban Planner & Executive Director at Urban Futures

What does our changing population look like? How can we reach an evolving consumer base? Demographer, urbanist, and planning consultant Andrew Ramlo looks at what’s around the corner, including retiring baby boomers, the emergence of niche markets, and a workforce in need of new skills. And, fueled by years of research as Executive Director of Urban Futures Inc., he explains exactly what these changes mean for businesses and communities.

As the Executive Director of Urban Futures Inc., Ramlo has carried out strategic management assignments for a wide range of private- and public-sector clients. He has worked with many leading developers, investors, and retailers, as well as municipalities, public agencies, and crown corporations. He was named one of Business in Vancouver’s “Top 40 Under 40.”

Ramlo has contributed to over 40 of the Urban Futures Institute’s research reports, while also participating in many of its public presentations. He is a member of the Planning Institute of British Columbia (PIBC), and he holds a position on the PIBC Council. He has organized and taught courses for both the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University (SFU), in addition to offering ongoing workshops and seminars for the British Columbia Institute of Technology and SFU’s City Program.

Topics:

The Future of Labour Supply: Where the Jobs Are

In the coming decades, Canada's population born between 1946 and 1965 will age into the third—and final—stage of their lifecycle. Employers now face the difficult challenge of managing labour supply issues: where will new employees come from, what will their needs be, and how slowly will the labour force grow? In this talk, Ramlo explores the potential opportunities that will arise with this demographic shift, in a world increasingly characterized by change. With product and business lifecycles shortening, the range of jobs (and careers) that the next generation of workers can choose from will continue to grow. Even within a particular job or career path, the increase of social, cultural, and economic diversity will require the next generation to have a growing range of skills to adapt to this new demographic and economic paradigm.

Life Cycles and Lifestyles: Strategies for Reaching Consumers

Is the age of mass marketing over? In this talk, Ramlo explains the dimensions of an evolving consumer base and the ways to market for tomorrow's consumer. He explains how and why consumers are fragmenting into niches that seek individualized products and services. In a fragmenting market, it's not enough to know about broad demographic changes; to succeed you will need to focus on the demographic, lifecycle, and lifestyle shifts within your target markets. This keynote can be customized to suit the needs of each audience.

Workers and Workplaces of the Future

There will be an abundance of work in the future, in both the traditional and the new economies. But without big changes in productivity, participation, and immigration, we'll be faced with accommodating both an aging population and a shrinking workforce. Organizations will continue to struggle to identify ways to strategically recruit and retain qualified workers. What will be different in the future will be the nature of work, the skills workers require, and the places they work in. Each employer will be forced to find creative ways to adapt. Ramlo helps audiences better understand these seismic changes, with a customized keynote that helps you prepare for the challenges of this changing economic and demographic landscape.