Critical Need for IT Workers in Canada

The shortage of information technology (IT) workers that is looming in Canada could cripple the sector and seriously impact the Canadian economy, says a recent report by a coalition of industry professionals.  The report, published by the Conference Board of Canada, projects the creation of 58,000 new jobs in the industry next year and more than 90,000 vacancies in the next three to five years.  The economic impact of the shortage could potentially be as much as $10.6 billion.

Computer science graduates in Canada have become increasingly rare.  Undergraduate enrolment in the discipline is down about 50 per cent since its peak in 2002, the year following the tech bust.  Phil Sorgen, President of Microsoft Canada stated that Canadian universities produce only enough graduates to fill one of every five new jobs created annually.  Microsoft Canada, like many other Canadian tech companies are scouting markets around the world to recruit more IT workers to Canada.

Last month, Bell Canada formed the Canadian Coalition for IT Succession, a group of two dozen companies to tackle the chronic unemployment problems in the industry.  The group wants to see changes to foreign immigration policies to make it easier to bring in foreign IT talent quickly.  The have already distributed the Conference Board of Canada’s report to immigration officials. 

The coalition is also working with Canadian universities and schools to change perceptions about IT professions to try and convince more Canadians to enroll in these programs.  Bell is also working on its own program, called First Jobs, which will attempt to fast-track qualified foreign workers into jobs in Canada.