Due to an aging workforce, imbalances in  demand and supply, skills mismatch, and other contributing factors, Canada is heading into a serious shortage of  technological workers in the next five years. This will result in Canada making several IT jobs in Canada available to skilled immigrants from all around the world.

Canada is going to need about 182,000 people to fill all the various positions for information systems consultants and analysts, software engineers, web technicians, computer and network operators, etc. by 2019.

At the moment there are about 811,200 technology and information communication professionals employed in Canada, however there is an additional 182,000 IT jobs in Canada that need to be filled in three years.

The funding for this study was given by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program while the report was constructed and released by a highly skilled team from the ICTC.

The report stated that the latest innovations in ICTs have become drivers of , productivity, innovation and growth. It is projected that the availability of local ICT talent will not be enough to meet these hiring requirements.

The majority of employers will proceed having trouble recruiting professionals with the right set of business and technical skills. The report states that unless adequately addressed, it will have a negative impact on Canada’s prosperity, since the growth in Canadian workers’ productivity levels has fallen noticeably since 2001.

Researchers say that employment growth, combined with replacement demands due to skills mismatching, retirements, and other factors, imbalances in demand-supply will affect some occupations more than others.

The report states that the high demand occupations included:

• Software engineers
• Information systems analysts and consultants
• Database analysts and data administrators
• Computer programmers and interactive media developers
• Computer and network operators and web technicians
• Graphic designers and illustrators
• Computer and information systems managers

Medium demand occupations include:

• Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians
• Web designers and developers
• Electrical and electronics engineers
• Systems testing technicians
• User support technicians
• Computer engineers

Low demand occupations are:

• Telecommunications carrier managers
• Broadcast technicians

Authors of the report stated that it is vital that business attract and retain more female employees for IT jobs in Canada. They stated that three out of four ICT employees in Canada are men.

Another method of closing the talent gap is to attract younger people to IT jobs in Canada. At the moment only one out of every twenty IT jobs in Canada are filled by youth.

Business will also need to look past Canadian borders in order to find real talent. The labour market is looking for 182,000 immigrants to fill the IT jobs in Canada before 2019.

The report also said that immigrants lacking Canadian labour market experience will have difficulty securing IT jobs in Canada that is equal to their qualifications. Bridging programs combing business practices and communications, while training in a Canadian workplace and a work placement component, will be sure to create fantastic opportunities for new job seekers wanting to gain employment that is in line with their skill sets and qualifications.