Labour Shortage Could Cripple Canada's Tech Industry

A "perfect storm" of socio-demographic factors, negative perceptions of the tech sector following the bubble burst of 2002 and a significant drop in university enrolment in IT programs across Canada has all come together to create this dire scenario, said Mr. Bloom. The Conference Board's report says that while more than 600,000 Canadians are employed in the IT sector, 31,000 of those will soon retire and another 58,000 will be needed to plug in forthcoming productivity gaps. Furthermore, the report found that each vacant position represents an average cost to the Canadian economy of $120,000 per year. To combat that problem, more than three dozen companies that span the gamut of the technology industry have formed together under the "Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow's IT Skills" moniker. Some of the companies include cable giant Rogers Communications Inc., Internet hardware maker Nortel Networks Corp., transportation manufacturer Bombardier Inc. and retailer Canadian Tire Corp. "If you don't do anything about it, everyone [will] chase after the same talent," said Stéphane Boisvert, president of Bell Canada Inc.' enterprise group, who is leading the coalition group. Some of the solutions the coalition intends on focusing on is marketing tech to high schools in hopes that more students will enroll in tech-specific post-secondary fields and convincing the federal government to loosen immigration regulations to easily allow more highly-educated workers to enter and work in Canada. ... http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=253575

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