OTTAWA — Canada’s ability to compete globally in the digital economy is being hindered by an ongoing shortage in skilled ICT professionals that might potentially worsen in the future, according to a new research study from the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC).
Canada continues to face an “acute” ICT skills shortage primarily due to job growth outpacing the supply of graduates, and the skills gap in meeting current and future industry needs, according to a blog post on ICTC’s website.
The new ICTC report, Digital Economy Supply: Canada’s Post-Secondary Education Stream, reveals that the anticipated cumulative hiring requirements in Canada for ICT talent are expected to be 182,000 by 2019. In comparison, the number of students who have enrolled in ICT programs at Canadian universities or colleges in 2015 totals only 126,000. Furthermore, in 2015, only about 29,000 students are expected to graduate from ICT programs in Canada, with 12,800 graduating from universities and 16,300 graduating from colleges.
“In this fast-paced digital economy, ICT talent continues to be a key comparative advantage in an increasingly global market. Attracting youth into ICT careers to build the talent supply, in addition to better alignment of education with industry needs will be paramount in ensuring Canada’s competitive advantage in the coming years,” Namir Anani, President and CEO of ICTC, is quoted as saying.
In the foreword to the report, Gary Davenport, President of the CIO Association of Canada, writes: “The success of Canada’s Digital Economy is dependent on having the required highly skilled resources to leverage the power of the newer technologies for our mutual benefit…This study not only outlines the challenges that we collectively face, but also represents a call to action for Educators, for the Industry and for Policymakers with solid strategies to help address the obvious shortcomings in our labour markets today and to better position all of us for Canada’s Digital Economy competitiveness tomorrow.”
